The Lusaka Protocol was signed in 1994 between the Angolan government and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas Savimbi. The signing took place in Lusaka, Zambia, and was attended by various international mediators who had worked tirelessly to forge peace after years of intense conflict. The Angolan Civil War, which erupted in 1975 following independence from Portugal, involved multiple factions fighting for control of national resources and political power. The main parties were the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and UNITA, with support from different Cold War aligned nations complicating the conflict's resolution.The Lusaka Protocol aimed to establish a framework for national reconciliation, disarmament, and the organization of democratic elections, establishing a ceasefire and creating mechanisms for the reintegration of former combatants. Despite the optimism surrounding the peace process, localized fighting resumed within a year of the protocol's signing. This indicated the fragility of the peace agreement and the deep-rooted challenges that remained in reconciling the factions within Angola, leading to a prolonged period of instability.In part, the lack of monitoring and enforcement mechanisms for the Lusaka Protocol allowed for further hostilities to emerge. Issues such as political power struggles, grievances over resource allocation, and the entrenchment of military loyalists created obstacles to achieving lasting peace. The eventual failure to fully implement the Lusaka Protocol led to a resurgence of violence and a new phase in Angola's protracted conflict, culminating in the resumption of the civil war in 1998.