Thursday 7 February 2013

Cuban and South Africans Clash in Angola

The Guardian 18 March 1979

Associated Press: Luanda

Reports of heavy fighting along the Angolan-South West African Border have been confirmed by the communist MPLA government here in Luanda.

According to government sources, South African troops crossed the border into Angola three nights ago and were met by a swift response from the Angolan Army. The fighting including tank battles near the town of N'giva.

There are unconfirmed reports of airstrikes by Cuban and East German piloted Migs in support of the Angolan troops. The Angolan army is trained and advised by Cuban soldiers.

The fighting represents the biggest escalation of the tension between South Africa and Angola in the area since the apartheid regime's raid on a SWAPO guerilla base in the southern Angolan town of Cassinga last year.

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