Operation Alpha Centauri

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Operation Alpha Centauri" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Operation Alpha Centauri
Part of South African Border War and Angolan Civil War
Location	Angola Mavinga Jamba Cuito Cuanavale Operation Alpha Centauri (Angola)
Objective	Artillery Bombardment and Ground Assault of Cuito Cuanavale
Date	9–17 August 1986 17h10 on 9th of August 1986 –

Operation Alpha Centauri was a South African military operation during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War to halt an offensive launched by the People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) towards Angola's Cuando Cubango Province. Its objective was to prevent FAPLA forces from reaching Jamba, a strategic town which functioned as the de facto headquarters of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and its armed wing.