Abstract
On 22 December 1988, an agreement was finally reached that paved the way for independent government in Namibia by April 1990. The agreement, signed by the US, Angola, Cuba and South Africa, signalled the withdrawal of south African troops operating in southern Angola - there explicitly hounding SWAPO, and implicitly aiding UNITA. Some 65,000 South African troops were to be confined to base in Namibia (and Cuban troops were to be withdrawn from Angola).
This historic event - the implementation of UN Resolution 435 which laid out the framework for self-government — only made international headlines after 1 April 1989, when fierce battles between SWAPO and South African forces threatened to destroy the delicate independence process which was supposedly under UN supervision. We publish below a brief account of how this has been reported in the British press, together with a statement from SWAPO's press agency.
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