Kissinger at 100: The ‘bloody, dreadful, filthy’ Angolan civil war – in pictures

Boys gather in front of a school destroyed by decades of civil war in Camacupa, Angola Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer

After largely ignoring the continent for years, Henry Kissinger, who shaped US foreign policy from 1969 to 1976 as secretary of state, became involved in successive crises in Ethiopia, Angola and Rhodesia in the 1970s.

The US intervention in Angola complicated the emerging conflict there that followed Portugal’s withdrawal from its African colonies after the fascist dictatorship was overthrown in a coup in Lisbon. Concerned that the communist MPLA forces would sweep to power and open the way for Soviet influence, Kissinger led the US into a lengthy involvement in Angola.