What did koevoet do?

Koevoet ([ˈkufut], meaning crowbar, also known as Operation K or SWAPOL-COIN) was the counter-insurgency branch of the South West African Police (SWAPOL). Over the course of the war, it killed or captured 3,225 insurgents and participated in 1,615 individual engagements.

Why was South Africa fighting in Angola?

South African forces invaded deep into Angola with the objective of driving the MPLA, Soviet and Cuban forces out of southern Angola so as to strengthen the position of UNITA, the main opponent of the MPLA and an ally of South Africa.

What was the cause of the South African Border War?

SA was concerned about the instability of Angola, and the threat of SWAPO getting a strong foothold across the SWA border, and this lead to SA’s intervention in Angola with Operation Savannah in 1975. The Angolans and Cuba often claimed that they have driven the SADF out of Angola.

What happened at Vlakplaas?

Vlakplaas farm was the site of multiple executions of political opponents of the apartheid government. The unit is known to have carried out the murders of Griffiths Mxenge in 1981 and the so-called “Chesterville Four” in 1986, among many others….

What is the meaning of Swapo?

South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO)

What was the reason for the border war?

The height of the conflict came in 1916 when revolutionary Pancho Villa attacked the American border town of Columbus, New Mexico. In response, the United States Army, under the direction of General John J. Pershing, launched an expedition into northern Mexico, to find and capture Villa.

Why was Swapo formed?

Ideology. SWAPO was founded with the aim of attaining the independence of Namibia and thus is part of the African nationalist movement.

How did Namibia get independence from South Africa?

In the 1960s Toivo ja Toivo and others were arrested for defiance against the South African government, and later sent to Robben Island. In 1988, the South African government, under a UN brokered peace initiative, finally agreed to give up control of Namibia. And on 21 March 1990, Namibia was granted its independence.

What did the Koevoet do in South Africa?

Koevoet was active during the South African Border War between 1979 and 1989, during which it carried out hundreds of search and destroy operations against the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). Koevoet’s methods were controversial, and the unit was accused of committing numerous atrocities against civilians.

How many died in the Koevoet War?

Over the course of the war, it killed or captured 3,225 insurgents and participated in 1,615 individual engagements. Koevoet was disbanded in 1989 as part of the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 435, which effectively ended the South African Border War and ushered in South West African independence as Namibia.

What was the border war in South Africa?

e The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angola from 26 August 1966 to 21 March 1990.

What was the relationship between Koevoet and Dreyer?

Dreyer had served with the SAP in Rhodesia during the Rhodesian Bush War and drew heavily on his operational experiences there while shaping Koevoet’s mandate and organisational structure. Koevoet was to be patterned directly after the Selous Scouts, a Rhodesian special forces unit which included large numbers of former insurgents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTSKA05jDzw