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How important was the Cassinga massacre to the history of Namibia?
Whatever the truth, the massacre was a political disaster for the South African apartheid regime, hardening international resistance to the South African war effort. Even though the war ended in 1990 in a stalemate, it led directly to the independence of Namibia.
Why did the South African Defence force attack the Cassinga camp in Angola?
South Africa also feared the disruption of elections it planned to hold in South West Africa excluding SWAPO. The attack on Cassinga grew out of the plan for Operation Bruilof, wherein the SADF envisaged attacking six SWAPO targets around the town of Chetequera.
How did the Cassinga massacre affect the lives of Namibians?
Survivors, Deniers and Injustices. It took the former South African Defence Force (SADF) less than four hours to kill more than eight hundred Namibian refugees at Cassinga on May 4, 1978. Thousands of survivors were left with irreparable physical and emotional injuries.
What is Cassinga massacre?
On 4 May 1978, the South African air force flew over Cassinga, allegedly a Namibian refugee camp in Southern Angola. The brutal attack was called the Battle of Cassinga, Cassinga Raid or Kassinga Massacre. It was the South African Army’s first major air assault on a SWAPO refugee camp and military base.
What is Cassinga Day Namibia?
With Cassinga Day, each year, Namibia commemorates the Cassinga massacre on 4 May 1978, when the village of Cassinga far across into the Angolan territory was attacked by South African military forces.
How many people died on Cassinga Day?
The Cassinga Day attack A total of 165 men, 294 women and 300 children died in this attack. Later the same day, the nearby camp Vietnam in the village of Tchetequela was also attacked. As of 2016, the graves are unmarked, but the Namibian government plans to erect a memorial site.
When was battle of Cassinga?
May 4, 1978
Battle of Cassinga/Start dates
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQUj7Q6kveM