It was led by the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, which won the civil war and has since governed the country as a social democratic republic.

The agreement promised Angolan independence and elections for the National Assembly of Angola in October 1975.

In July 1975, the MPLA violently forced the FNLA out of Luanda, while UNITA voluntarily withdrew to its stronghold in the south.

On October 23, South Africa launched Operation Savannah, with 2,000 soldiers crossing from Namibia in support of both the FNLA and UNITA.

[7][8] The Cuban intervention, which would eventually number 18,000, was key in securing the MPLA's positions and repelling the advances of FNLA and UNITA.

The MPLA, with Cuban help, consolidated power over the whole country capturing all of Angola's provincial capitals, including Huambo on 8 February.

Interior minister Nito Alves, and Chief of Staff José Jacinto Van-Dúnem, began planning a coup d'état against Neto, allegedly with Soviet backing.

Cuban forces loyal to Neto retook the palace, radio station and the barracks of the 8th Brigade.

[11] The MPLA government arrested tens of thousands of suspected Nitistas from May to November, including Van-Dunem who was executed.

[14] In 1988, the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, where the MPLA and Cuba battled UNITA and South Africa to a stalemate, led to the Tripartite Accord, which secured Namibia's independence and the withdrawal of Cuban and South African forces from Angola.

[15][16] In tandem with the fall of the Soviet Union, in 1991 the MPLA and UNITA signed the peace agreement known as the Bicesse Accords, which allowed for multiparty elections in Angola.