Cabinda sovereignty movement tries to keep half a century of struggle alive by declaring independence

FLEC-FAC says it will not stop until it expels Angolan army · Angola maintains firm control over Cabinda, which produces 60% of the country’s oil · NGOs report serious violations of civil and political rights

The main pro-independence politico-military group in Cabinda has proclaimed the independence of the enclave in northern Angola and says it will not halt armed operations until Angolan troops withdraw from the territory. With only limited operational capacity inside Cabinda, the separatists are increasingly trying to shift the conflict onto the international stage. Allegations of human rights abuses and disputes over the exploitation of the territory’s rich natural resources lie at the heart of a conflict whose roots stretch back to the Portuguese colonial era.

What is Cabinda and why is there an independence movement?

Cabinda is a territory of about 7,300 square kilometres with a population of roughly 900,000 people, located north of the mouth of the Congo River. It belongs to Angola but is geographically separated from the rest of the country by a strip of land belonging to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Despite its small size, Cabinda is strategically crucial to Angola: roughly 60% of the country’s oil production comes from the enclave.

Independence supporters argue that in 1885, during the era of European colonial expansion in Africa, Portugal and the local Cabindan kingdom of N’Goyo agreed in the Treaty of Simulambuco that Cabinda would become a Portuguese protectorate. According to this interpretation, Cabinda and Angola were separate administrative entities within the Portuguese Empire.

The later administrative integration of Cabinda into Angola—gradually carried out by Portugal during the colonial period, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s—is therefore considered by the separatists to have violated the treaty and to be legally invalid. Angola rejects this interpretation, and no international organisation has formally recognised the Cabindan independence claim.

Since 1975, the Angolan army has maintained a strong military presence in the territory. Academics and human rights organisations say the government restricts freedom of association and expression there, citing the banning of civic groups such as Mpalabanda, arbitrary arrests and prison sentences for people who peacefully advocate independence or even discuss autonomy.

The independence movement also argues that most of the revenue from oil extraction flows to the Angolan state rather than benefiting local development or employment. This is despite a 2006 agreement between the government and part of the independence movement that promised a degree of political and fiscal autonomy—provisions that critics say were never implemented.

Who proclaimed independence?

Cabinda’s independence was proclaimed on February 2 by the Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda – Armed Forces of Cabinda (FLEC-FAC), the enclave’s main politico-military group and one of the successors of the original FLEC, founded in 1963 under Portuguese colonial rule.

Today’s FLEC-FAC is a relatively loose organisation that has experienced several internal splits over the decades. It operates with an unclear chain of command divided between several exile centres in Europe—mainly in Belgium, France and Portugal—and small guerrilla units operating from the forests of inland Cabinda, including the Maiombe forest, or from areas near the borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The declaration of independence was presented at a press conference in Brussels, led by FLEC president Emmanuel Nzita and introduced by the organisation’s head of international relations, André Quinta.

Representatives of the High Council of Cabinda, a pro-independence political body created in 2019 to coordinate the FLEC-FAC with other Cabindan actors and strengthen the international profile of the independence cause, were also present.

During the event, organisers played a video they said had been recorded inside Cabinda. In the footage, FLEC-FAC secretary-general Jacinto António Telica proclaimed independence and declared that the armed struggle would continue until Angolan troops withdrew from the enclave.

Is this the first time independence has been proclaimed?

No. In 1974, shortly after the Carnation Revolution, Portugal announced that it would decolonize its African territories.

In January 1975, Portugal reached an agreement to withdraw from Angola with the three main Angolan independence movements (the MPLA, the FNLA and UNITA), but held no negotiations with the FLEC.

On 1 August 1975, the FLEC proclaimed the Republic of Cabinda, attempting to create a fait accompli that would precede Angolan independence, scheduled for 11 November. FLEC, however, was operating mainly from exile and its actual control over Cabindan territory was limited.

In the following months, coinciding with Angolan independence, the MPLA sent forces into the enclave with Cuban support and occupied Cabinda without encountering any resistance capable of stopping it.

What has changed on the ground since the February 2 declaration?

Information about FLEC-FAC movements in rural areas is limited. In the cities and along major transport routes, however, there are no signs that the situation has changed.

Cabinda remains firmly under Angolan control, and no military or other actions by Cabindan separatists have been reported since the declaration.

The day before the announcement, however, Angolan police arrested five people who were demonstrating to commemorate the Treaty of Simulambuco.

There has been a rise in fatalities linked to the conflict in recent months. By mid-2025, the conflict-monitoring organisation ACLED had recorded 80 deaths involving Angolan soldiers, FLEC-FAC fighters and civilians—the highest figure since 2016.

Even so, analysts agree that the imbalance of power between the two sides is vast. FLEC-FAC does not have the capacity to control Cabinda, let alone establish a functioning independent state.

Why proclaim independence now?

When such declarations cannot be translated into tangible control on the ground, their main aim is usually to keep the issue alive internationally, attract attention and potentially prompt reactions from foreign governments or institutions that might pressure the parent state—in this case, Angola.

One of FLEC-FAC’s spokespeople in exile, Jean-Claude Nzita, used the occasion to make an offer to US President Donald Trump, proposing to “share” Cabinda’s natural resources “in exchange for the right to self-determination”.

There has been no response from Washington. During the Brussels event, however, André Quinta said a FLEC-FAC delegation “had been received at the [U. S.] State Department and the Senate”, without specifying when.

How has the Angolan government reacted?

The government has said little publicly, likely to avoid giving the declaration visibility or international legitimacy.

There is little indication that Angola’s strategy will change: tight control over any independence or autonomy activism inside Cabinda, combined with continued investment in large infrastructure projects—ports, airports, refineries and power networks—designed to bind the enclave more closely to the Angolan economy.

Angolan President João Lourenço has announced that the deep-water port of Caio will be inaugurated in April. The facility is intended to become a logistics hub combining maritime transport and oil-sector operations and competing with other ports along the central and southern Atlantic coast of Africa.

Are there other independence or autonomy movements in Angola?

Yes, though none have the same intensity or continuity as the movement in Cabinda.

For around two decades, some groups have called for self-determination in eastern Angola, referring to the region as Lunda Tchokwe. In some academic circles and on social media, there are also calls for Angola to recognise the distinct identity of the northern provinces of Zaire and Uíge, which—like Cabinda—are part of the Bakongo cultural sphere.

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