Having previously served as the foreign minister with the FNLA, Savimbi left the organization for a number of reasons and formed UNITA out of the Ovimbundu of the south.  Though ostensibly an independence movement, UNITA seldom fought the Portuguese and was mostly engaged against the MPLA.  Some allege that UNITA was given authority over Ovimbunduland by the Portuguese in exchange for fighting the MPLA.