Cassinga
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Cassinga or Kassinga[note 1] is a town and commune in the municipality of Jamba, province of Huíla, Angola.
It is situated on an old and important two-track road from Jamba to Huambo.[1]
Established as an ore mine and during the Civil War allegedly used as Namibian guerrilla training site and refugee camp, the place was the scene of the Battle of Cassinga, an airborne raid by the South African Defence Force against the People's Liberation Army of Namibia on 4 May 1978 that killed several hundred SWAPO fighters, Cuban soldiers and Namibian refugees.
The settlement is a place of reverence and pilgrimage by both belligerents of the battle. Namibians celebrate Cassinga Day as a national holiday. SWAPO and the MPLA claimed the battle was a massacre of a refugee camp. The battle is thus regarded the turning point in the fight for Namibian independence, which then started drawing support from a wider segment of the population. Some South Africans, mostly those who fought in the battle, and their families, celebrate a "jewel of military craftmanship".[2] These people pay respect to those who died in the battle, by visiting the town.[1] No major commemorations or celebrations are held by the general South African public, of all races.
History
Before Independence
One of the exploratory travels of the
Located near the site is an old iron mine constructed by Krupp engineers working in concert with the colonial administration. Between 1966 and 1967, a second terminal for extracting the ore was completed at Saco, a bay just 12 kilometres north of Moçâmedes by Compania Mineira do Lobito, the Lobito Mining Company. Cassinga's product would eventually be channeled to Saco under direction of Portuguese authorities. Development of the installation was trusted to Krupp and SETH, a Portuguese subsidiary of Denmark's Højgaard & Schultz. Moçâmedes housed expatriate workers, the foreign engineers, and their families for two years until the first 250,000 tons of ore were shipped out in 1967. At that time Cassinga had about twenty buildings serving as warehouses, accommodation and offices.
During the Civil War
Cassinga continued to thrive until Angola's independence from Portugal in 1975. Abandoned by its European supervisors, the mine and the settlement quickly fell into neglect during the ensuing
By 1978, PLAN's presence had attracted the attention of the
The Namibians abandoned the camp after the attacks and moved their headquarters to Lubango. As of 2015[update] the site of the battle is still partly mined, and the mass graves have fallen into disrepair.[1]
Cassinga was the site of more fighting during Operation Askari, in late 1983. After driving back several Angolan units with air support and mechanised infantry, the SADF finally occupied the area for the second time on 22 December.[10]
Railway
Japanese interests wish to reopen the iron ore mine and link it by rail to the Namibian port of Walvis Bay, this being the most efficient port in the region. This railway would go via Oshikango on Namibia's northern border.
See also
- Cassinga Day, a national holiday in Namibia honouring those killed during the Battle of Cassinga.[11]
- Railway stations in Angola
- Transport in Angola
- Iron ore in Africa
References
Explanations
- ^ The transliteration Kassinga is also commonly used, with the "K" being an adoption of the original Portuguese terminology either by German and Afrikaans-speaking miners, or by indigenous people in whose language the letter "K" is also common. Municipal sources continue to use the older spelling.
Notes
- ^ a b c d Amupadhi, Tangeni (12 June 2015). "Cassinga forgotten". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ Geldenhuys 1995, p. 93.
- ^ Williams 2009, p. 33.
- ^ Williams 2009, pp. 38–39.
- ^ a b McGill Alexander 2003.
- ^ TRC-1998.
- ^ McGill Alexander 2003, pp. 52–53.
- ^ Edward George, The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965-1991: From Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale. Psychology Press, 2004.
- ^ TRC-1998, p. 52.
- ^ Focus on Political Repression in Southern Africa. International Defence & Aid Fund, 1983, Volume 1 Issues 44-45 p. 12.
- ^ "Namibia Key Facts". Commonwealth Secretariat. 2004. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
Literature
- Geldenhuys, Jannie (1995). A General's Story: From an Era of War and Peace. Jonathan Ball. ISBN 1868420205.
- McGill Alexander, Edward (July 2003). "The Cassinga Raid" (PDF). UNISA. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
- Williams, Christian A. (2009). "Exile History: An Ethnography of the SWAPO Camps and the Namibian Nation" (PDF). University of Michigan. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission (29 October 1998). Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report (PDF) (Report). Vol. 2. Department of Justice, South Africa. Retrieved 5 September 2007.