UNITA would have to depend on its other regional ally, Zaire, for continued support against the MPLA.  Sharing a large border and deep cultural ties that went back to the Kongo kingdom, Zaire and Angola were strongly connected.  Throughout the liberation war, Zaire served as a base of operations for the Bakongo-dominated FNLA and provided it significant military assistance.  Besides the solidarity showed to their Bakongo kin, Mobutu’s Zaire had other important reasons for fighting the MPLA. 