| Country: | Angola |
| Details of Formation: | The Civil Defence Organization was set up by the MPLA during the civil war. |
| Details of Termination: | According to a news source from July 2004, the ODC was banned, but still backed by the ruling party, which also did not disarm the relevant civilian population. The Civil Defence Organization's last armed operation was in March 2005. In 2011 the group still seems to exist, but it is unclear whether they are still armed. |
| Purpose: | The Civil Defence Organization was originally founded for civilians to defend themselves against rebel attacks. The PGM was involved in many massacres, not limiting its actions to defence. To ensure state protection, the group created a protective zone around the capital. |
| Organisation: | -- |
| Weapons and Training: | The government distributed arms to the people who made up the Civil Defense Organization. Members were armed with AK-47 assault rifles |
| Size: | -- |
| Reason for Membership: | Members helped themselves to thousands of pounds’ worth of food and medicines stored in UN warehouses. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The PGM was involved in systematic elimination of Unita supporters, with more or less official sanction, and sometimes alongside police forces. Regular attacks against Unita supporters are reported between 1992 and 2005. Zaireans were also targeted and killed. |
| Other Information: | Members are mainly demobilized soldiers of the old government army and MPLA activists. This PGM might be the same organization as the “popular defence organization”. |
| References: | Abbs, Luke, Govinda Clayton, and Andrew Thomson. 2020. “The Ties That Bind: Ethnicity, Pro-Government Militia, and the Dynamics of Violence in Civil War.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 64 (5): 903–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002719883684. |