After 27 years of civil war, on April 4, 2002, the government led by the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola and the opposition forces of Unita agreed to cease the armed conflict.

For the records of history, the date was inscribed as the Day of Peace and National Reconciliation, in remembrance of the signing of a memorandum of understanding complementary to the Lusaka Protocol, which put an end to the conflict in 2002.

The initial treaty was initialed in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, on November 20, 1994, but it failed to achieve its intended purpose, as the insurgents ignored the results of the 1992 general elections and continued the military actions.

In general, the civil war that followed the proclamation of independence (November 11, 1975) left a toll until 2002 of more than 500,000 dead and four million displaced, according to documents of the time.

On an ecumenical initiative, Luanda yesterday hosted a thanksgiving service for the 20 years of peace and reconciliation, attended by several personalities, including the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.

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