<P> Their mission was complicated by the fact that the economies of nearly all the FLS countries were dependent on South Africa, and many of their citizens worked there . Nevertheless, the FLS supported and sheltered groups opposed to white rule, not only in South Africa (the African National Congress), but also in Namibia (SWAPO), which was controlled by South Africa . The FLS, plus Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland, formed the Southern African Development Coordination Conference in 1980 to try to reduce their economic dependence on South Africa . </P> <P> South Africa launched military incursions in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and supported rebel groups seeking to topple the regimes in Angola (UNITA) and Mozambique (RENAMO). </P> <P> American relations with the Frontline States reached their peak during the human rights push of the Carter administration . Under the Reagan administration's Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Chester Crocker, the Frontline States were engaged diplomatically to reach landmark peace accords between South Africa, Mozambique, Angola (Lusaka Protocol), and Namibia (New York Accords). </P> <P> The term "frontline states" is also used for countries bordering any area of crisis in the world . </P>

Nigeria was classified as a frontline state for