Namibian War of Independence
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| Namibian War of Independence | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Cold War and the South African Border War | |||||||||
 Geopolitical situation, 1978. States friendly to the nationalist guerrillas are denoted in red, and Namibia itself presented in a maturing pink. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 South Africa
Supported by: |
 PLAN (SWAPO) SWANUSupported by:  MPLA Cuba ANC Soviet Union East Germany Zambia[1] |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 1989:[2][3] 30,743 SADF troops |
1989:[4] 32,000 guerrillas |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 2,038[5] - 2,500[6] | 11,335[7] | ||||||||
| Part of a series on the |
| History of Namibia |
|---|
 |
| Khoisan people |
| Bantu expansion |
| German colonization |
| Herero and Namaqua Genocide |
| South-West Africa Campaign |
| South African Mandate |
| South African Border War |
| War of Independence |
| SWAPO |
 Namibia portal |
The Namibian War of Independence, which lasted from 1966 to 1988, was a guerrilla war which the nationalist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and others fought against the apartheid government of South Africa. It was closely intertwined with the South African Border War.
South Africa had administered what was then still known as South West Africa since it captured the German territory during World War I and subsequently received a League of Nations mandate to administer the territory. In 1966 the United Nations General Assembly, successor to the League of Nations, revoked South Africa's mandate to govern South-West African territory and declared that it was under direct UN administration. South Africa refused to recognize this resolution and continued to administer the territory de facto.[8]
On August 26, 1966, SWAPO guerilla forces launched an attack against the South African Defence Force at Omugulugwombashe. It was the first armed battle in the Namibian struggle for independence.[9] In commemoration of the day, August 26 is a public holiday in Namibia. It is recognized by the United Nations as Namibia Day[10] but Namibians refer to it as Heroes' Day.
The war ended with the New York Accords signed on December 22, 1988, which also ended direct involvement of foreign troops in the Angolan Civil War. Independence came to Namibia on 21 March 1990 following elections which saw SWAPO win 55 of 72 seats in the National Assembly of Namibia, enabling them to form a national government.[11]
See also
- South African Border War
- Angolan Civil War
- South West African Territorial Force
- South West African Police
- Koevoet
References
- ^ "Rhodesian Insurgency - Part 2". Rhodesia.nl. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ^ Fryxell, Cole. To Be Born a Nation. p. 13.
- ^ Tsokodayi, Cleophas Johannes. Namibia's Independence Struggle: The Role of the United Nations. pp. 1–305.
- ^ http://www.greenstone.org/greenstone3/nzdl;jsessionid=0CCCFAAC3CF46BDE7A3168FF60CA9DE3?a=d&d=HASH57b66f5b80364b135e2d7a.7.2.np&c=hdl&sib=1&dt=&ec=&et=&p.a=b&p.s=ClassifierBrowse&p.sa=
- ^ "SA Roll of Honour: List of Wars". Justdone.co.za. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ^ Reginald Herbold Green. "Namibia : The road to Namibia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ^ "Military Chronicle of South-West Africa". Rhodesia.nl. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ^ "Namibian War of Independence 1966-1988". Armed Conflict Events Database. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
- ^ Petronella Sibeene (17 April 2009). "Swapo Party Turns 49". New Era.
- ^ United Nations Conferences and Observances
- ^ "Namibian Voters Deny Total Power to SWAPO," by Michael Johns, The Wall Street Journal, November 19, 1989..
