The Great African War ("Grande Guerra Africana" in Kongo; "Grote Afrikaanse Oorlog" in Zaire) was a regional war fought in the Central and Southern Africa between 1979 and 1992. The war is considered one of the bloodiest conflicts of the continent, with more than one million people dead, and six million people being displaced as a result of the conflict. The war was fought between the coalitions of the Free League (led by Kongo, Cuba, and Angola), and the Great Alliance (led by Zaire, South Africa, and Marchisia).
Generally, the war is considered to have begun on 15 June 1979 with the invasion of Zairean forces in the Kongolese province of Manidombe. At the time, Kongo and Zaire led a giant rivalry between both nations, and eventually, after the construction of a military base near the border with Zaire, it led to a political crisis between both countries. The PCT-led government of Kongo allied with almost every socialist group and Burundi in the group known as the Free League while Zaire and its allies formed the Great Alliance.
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