Guinea-Bissau Civil War BELLIGERENTS: Guinea-Bissau Government (of President Joao Bernardo Vieira) with. [21] By 1967 the PAIGC had carried out 147 attacks on Portuguese barracks and army encampments, and effectively controlled 2/3 of Portuguese Guinea. These new operations utilized Destacamentos de Fuzileiros Especiais (DFE) (special marine assault detachments) as strike forces. Also called: Guerra do Ultramar/Guerra Colonial. The elections were due to be held in July. The interior was however not fully controlled by the Portuguese until the latter half of the 19th century. The United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau was subsequently established to monitor the general elections and the implementation of the Abuja Agreement. 1974 - Independence following a guerrilla war. On 26 July, following mediation by a delegation from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), the government and the rebels agreed to implement a truce. In early November 1998, an agreement was reached on the composition of a joint executive commission to implement the peace accord. Each group fought in isolation and established a forest based independently from the others. Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. 2012 Guinea-Bissau … However, a subsequent and brief outbreak of fighting in May 1999 ended with the deposing of Vieira on 10 May 1999 when Vieira signed an unconditional surrender. [7] Government forces, backed by neighbouring states, clashed with the coup leaders who had quickly gained almost total control over the country's armed forces. Unlike Portugal's other African territories, successful small-unit Portuguese counterinsurgency tactics were slow to evolve in Guinea. In retaliation Portuguese soldiers and sailors attacked the squadron barracks in the colony's capital Bissau. Between 1968 and 1972, the Portuguese forces increased their offensive posture, in the form of raids into PAIGC-controlled territory. Guinea-Bissau [ɡiˈneːa bɪˈsaʊ] (portugiesisch Guiné-Bissau [ɡiˈnɛ biˈsau]) ist ein Staat in Afrika. The operation involved a daring raid on Conakry, a PAIGC safe haven, in which 220 Portuguese Fuzileiros (amphibious assault troops) and 200 Guinean anti-Ahmed Sékou Touré insurgents attacked the city. The assassination happened less than 15 months before end of hostilities. Guinea-Bissau becomes a separate colony in the Portuguese Empire in 1879. The Constitution of Guinea-Bissau is the supreme law of the country with all legislation and laws being subordinate to it. At the end of January 1999, hostilities resumed in the capital resulting in numerous fatalities and the displacement of some 250,000 residents. In 1964 PAIGC opened their second front in the north. Page 143. The Portuguese conducted many search and destroy operation against the PAIGC 20 km from the frontier. On April 25, 1974 the Carnation Revolution, a left-wing military led revolution, broke out in Portugal ending the authoritarian dictatorship of Estado Novo. Millions die or are forced to abandon their homes in search of asylum, he said, emphasizing that “we cannot remain indifferent to so much suffering and despair”. On 25 August, representatives of the government and the rebels met under the auspices of the CPLP and ECOWAS on Sal Island, Cape Verde, where an agreement was reached to transform the existing truce into a cease-fire. He was sworn in on 17 February 2000. Various cease-fires were called and broken, and troops from Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, and France intervened. Although the First World War increased world demand for tropical products and stimulated Guinea's economy, a post-war slump and frequent political crisis created a deep recession. Before the proposal could be formally endorsed, the cease-fire collapsed as fighting erupted in the capital and several other towns. By this time, the PAIGC, led by Amílcar Cabral, began openly receiving military support from the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba. However, years of civil strife compounded by military coups have led to the constitution being suspended in 1980 which was later ratified in May, 1984. Afonso, Aniceto and Gomes, Carlos de Matos, Iberian Peninsula and South America (1762–63), Banda Oriental and Rio Grande do Sul (1762–63), African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies, Destacamentos de Fuzileiros Especiais (DFE), United Nations Security Council Resolution 290, United Nations Security Council Resolution 295, "Brazilian Relations with Portuguese Africa in the Context of the Elusive "Luso-Brazilian Community. Situated on the Atlantic coast, the predominantly low-lying country is slightly hilly farther inland. Open hostilities broke out in January 1963 when guerrillas from the PAIGC attacked the Portuguese garrison in Tite, near the Corubal River, south of Bissau, the capital of Portuguese Guinea. On 20 October, the government imposed a nationwide curfew, and on the following day President Vieira declared a unilateral cease-fire. In 1965 the war spread to the eastern part of the country; that same year the PAIGC expanded its attacks in the northern area of the country, where at the time only the Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea (FLING), a minor insurgent force, was operating. Guinea-Bissau’s history of political instability, a civil war, and several coups (the latest in 2012) have resulted in a fragile state with a weak economy, high unemployment, rampant corruption, widespread poverty, and thriving drug and child trafficking. In a relatively short time, the PAIGC had succeeded in reducing Portuguese military and administrative control of the country to a relatively small area of Guinea. The PAIGC blew up bridges, cut telegraph lines, destroyed sections of the highways, established arms caches and hideouts, and destroyed Fula villages and minor administrative posts. Many groups were formed on tribal and religious grounds. Guinea-Bissau’s army was on Monday asked by a bloc of West African countries to remain neutral in the country’s deepening political struggle. They then withdrew with no casualties. [7], The conflict resulted in the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands. Sporadic fighting continued during the early 20th century and the Bijagós Islands were not pacified under Portuguese rule until 1936. Together with a disgruntled former associate, agents assassinated Amílcar Cabral on the 20th January 1973 in Conakry, Guinea. In late January, following the seizure in Guinea-Bissau of a cache of weapons, a number of officers of the armed forces were arrested on charges of supplying arms to th… The long ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) won 24 seats. Then two strike forces of several hundred men entered the area. Revolution and Chinese Foreign Policy: Peking's Support for Wars of National Liberation Peter van Ness, 1971. The PAIGC had already unilaterally proclaimed the country's independence a year before in the village of Madina do Boé, an event that had been recognized by many socialist and non-aligned member states of the United Nations. General Spínola instituted a series of civil and military reforms, intended to first contain, then roll back the PAIGC and its control of much of the rural portion of Portuguese Guinea. [7], Guinea-Bissau gained independence from Portugal in 1974 after an eleven and a half year long war of independence. 2010 October - US expresses concern over Guinea Bissau government's decision to reinstate alleged drugs kingpin Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto as head of navy. The age adjusted Death Rate is 0.00 per 100,000 of population ranks Guinea-Bissau #183 in the world. While Kaabu was ascendant, the Fulani were common victims. Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeGuinea Bissau's military says it has arrested the prime minister after a coup. 1980 - Country's first … Portugal granted full independence to Guinea-Bissau on September 10, 1974, after eleven-and-a-half years of armed conflict. An estimated further 200,000 residents of Bissau fled the city, prompting fears of a humanitarian disaster, with the hostilities preventing aid organizations from distributing emergency food and medical supplies to the refugees. In March 1998, following protest by opposition parties at delays in the organization of legislative elections, an independent national elections commission was established. so its an example that portugal spent some 45 million per year, with little allied help . [25][26] By 1970 the PAIGC even had candidates training in the Soviet Union, learning to fly MIGs and to operate Soviet-supplied amphibious assault crafts and APCs. Further talks held under the aegis of ECOWAS in Abuja, Nigeria, resulted in the signing of a peace accord on 1 November. Resumed May 6, 1999. [21], They were also demoralized by the steady growth of PAIGC liberation sympathizers and recruits among the rural population. Similar guerrilla actions quickly spread across the colony, mainly in the south. Military unrest occurred in Guinea-Bissau on 1 April 2010. On 30 January 1998, Guinea-Bissau's defense minister announced the suspension of the Chief of Staff of the armed forces, Brigadier-General Ansumane Mané on the grounds of dereliction of duty in view of the fact that the weapons impounded in the previous month had been taken from a military depot of the Guinea-Bissau armed forces.[10]. The insurgents would sometimes feint at the end of the line to distract attention from the main attack elsewhere. On 20 February the new Government of National Unity was announced. The Portuguese stationed an infantry company at Madina do Boe in the east near the border with the Republic of Guinea. In 2007 its population was estimated at approximately 407,000 people. The jungles of Guinea and the proximity of the PAIGC's allies near the border proved to be of significant advantage in providing tactical superiority during cross-border attacks and resupply missions for the guerrillas. The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence was an armed independence conflict that took place in Portuguese Guinea between 1963 and 1974. Cyprus, Guinea-Bissau, Israel, Liberia, Palestine, Rwanda, the Somali Region, TimorLeste, Youth - Gangs in Central America (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador), and has a thematic programme on post conflict constitution-building. These groups began to abuse the locals and people began to flee the “liberated” zones. The name Guinea remains a source of debate; it is perhaps a corruption of an Amazigh (Berber) word meaning “land of the blacks.” The country also uses the [23], General Spínola's Africanization policy also fostered a large increase in indigenous recruitment into the armed forces, culminating in the establishment of all-black military formations such as the Black Militias (Milícias negras) commanded by Major Carlos Fabião. This included a 'hearts and minds' propaganda campaign designed to win the trust of the indigenous population, an effort to eliminate some of the discriminatory practices against native Guineans, a massive construction campaign for public works including new schools, hospitals, improved telecommunications and road networks, and a large increase in recruitment of native Guineans into the Portuguese armed forces serving in Guinea as part of an Africanisation strategy. By that time almost all of the government troops had defected to the side of rebel forces, which were believed to control approximately 99% of the country. Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance, Community of Portuguese Language Countries, United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau, African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, "Conflict Transformation, Guinea-Bassau, The Military Crisis in Guinea-Bassau, Terhi Lehtinen", Conflict Transformation, Guinea-Bassau, The Military Crisis in Guinea-Bassau, Terhi Lehtinen, "Civil War in Guinea-Bissau: June 1998- May 1999. Page 12. The branch stores of the Companhia União Fabril (CUF), Mario Lima Whanon, and Manuel Pinto Brandão companies were seized and inventoried by the PAIGC in the areas they controlled, while the use of Portuguese currency in the areas under guerilla control was banned. They attacked the PAIGC held island of Como in the south of the country. Two special indigenous African counterinsurgency detachments were formed by the Portuguese Armed Forces. The Guinea-Bissau Civil War was fought from 7 June 1998 to 10 May 1999 and was triggered by an attempted coup d'état against the government of President João Bernardo Vieira led by Brigadier-General Ansumane Mané. In July, constitutional amendments were introduced that limited the tenure of presidential office to two terms and abolished the death penalty. Colonel) Marcelino da Mata, a black Portuguese citizen born of Guinean parents who rose from a first sergeant in a road engineering unit to a commander in the Comandos Africanos. The African Special Marines supplemented other Portuguese elite units conducting amphibious operations in the riverine areas of Guinea in an attempt to interdict and destroy guerrilla forces and supplies. The military arrested Ialá on the charge of being "unable to solve the problems". At the talks, which took place on 29 October, the rebels confirmed that they would not seek Vieira's resignation. At this time Portuguese forces also adopted unorthodox means of countering the insurgents, including attacks on the political structure of the nationalist movement. At a tripartite meeting conducted in late May by representatives of the government, the military junta and the political parties, agreement was reached that Vieira should stand trial for his involvement in arms trafficking to the Casamance separatists and for political and economic crimes relating to his terms in office. A total of 7,447 black African soldiers who had served in Portuguese native commando units, security forces, and the armed militia decided not to join the new ruling party and were summarily executed by the PAIGC after Portuguese forces ceased hostilities. Guinea-Bissau: War. Amilcar Cabral: Revolutionary Leadership and People's War, 2002. By the time of the 1926 military uprising in Portugal, most of Guinea was occupied, administered and taxed, but its revenue was insufficient to pay for its administration, much less to expand it. THERE IS MUCH THE THIS ARTICLE IS MISSING. 36 FARP[who?] The armed forces deployed reinforcements along the border with Casamance to prevent the separatists from entering the country. With the coming of independence, the PAIGC moved swiftly to extend its control throughout the country. It is located on the Geba River estuary on the Atlantic Ocean, on a peninsula that used to be an island. Gomes, who was a medic on the frontlines during the independence war, donated beds to the hospital as part of her campaign. One immediate result of Operation Green Sea was an escalation in the conflict, with countries such as Algeria and Nigeria now offering support to the PAIGC as well as the Soviet Union, which sent warships to the region (known by NATO as the West Africa Patrol) in a show of force calculated to deter future Portuguese amphibious attacks on the territory of the Republic of Guinea. Page 208. In 1970 the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) began to use similar weapons to those the US was using in the Vietnam War: napalm and defoliants in order to find the insurgents or at least deny them the cover and concealment needed for rebel ambushes. In the beginning of the 20th century, the Portuguese Guinea started to be referred to as "colony", despite still having the generic status of overseas province. [20] The war ended when Portugal, after the Carnation Revolution of 1974, granted independence to Guinea-Bissau, followed by Cape Verde a year later. The PAIGC had few weapons – perhaps only one submachine gun and two pistols per group – so attacked Portuguese convoys to gain more weapons. The disarmament of rebel troops and those loyal to the president, as provided for under the Abuja accord, began in early March. On 28 November 1999, presidential and legislative elections were held with the opposition Social Renewal Party (PRS) winning 38 of 102 seats making it the largest party represented in the National People's Assembly. Military stalemate[15] The next year, Portugal began a new campaign against the guerrillas with the arrival of the new governor of the colony, General António de Spínola. In Guinea-Bissau and neighbouring territories, slaves were captured among the coastal peoples or among interior groups at war. After 1968 PAIGC forces were increasingly supplied with modern Soviet weapons and equipment, most notably SA-7 rocket launchers, radar-controlled AA cannon, and even jet aircraft in the form of several Ilyushin Il-28 bombers. Government forces, backed by neighbouring states, clashed with the coup leaders who had quickly gained almost total control over the country's armed forces. The Portuguese Guinea was dependent from the government of Cape Verde until 1887, when it gained the status of a separate overseas province of Portugal. Lloyd-Jones, Stewart, and Costa Pinto, António, PAIGC, Jornal Nô Pintcha, 29 November 1980: In a statement in the party newspaper. Fought between Portugal and the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, an armed independence movement backed by Cuba and the Soviet Union, the war is commonly referred to as "Portugal's Vietnam" due to the large numbers of men and amounts of material expended in a long, mostly guerrilla war and the internal political turmoil it created in Portugal. On April 18, 1961 PAIGC together with FRELIMO of Mozambique, MPLA of Angola and MLSTP of São Tomé and Príncipe formed the Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies (CONCP) during a conference in Morocco. Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. The scale of this success can be seen in the fact that native Guineans in the 'liberated territories' ceased payment of debts to Portuguese landowners as well as payment of taxes to the colonial administration.[21].