S.A. hits guerrillas

Press, 4 August 1981, Page 8

S.A. hits guerrillas

NZPA Windhoek South African-led troops, taking advantage of one of the worst droughts in recorded history in Namibia (South-West Africa), have launched a major operation against black nationalist guerrillas trying to win independence for the arid but mineral-rich south-west African nation.

With much of the protective vegetation gone along the Angolan border and with water and food a daily headache even for civilians, the South Africans and their tribal allies are pursuing the guerrillas deep into the largely uninhabited border area of Angola.

At the same time, the guerrillas from the SouthWest African People’s Organisation are crossing the border in larger numbers than before and are equipped with more sopisticated weaponry, including Russian-made Sam 7 heat-seeking missiles. The increased pace of this low-level war is reflected in the casualty reports from South Africans.

According to figures released last week, by MajorGeneral. Charles Lloyd, commander of the largely South African troops in the area, 225 S.W.A.P.O. guerrillas were killed in. July. That compares with 565 guerrillas. killed during the first six months of this year, according to the South African figures.

The South Africans claim they have lost only 29 troops since January, including two last month. Verification of these figures is impossible, but most seasoned observers think that S.W.A.P.O. casualties probably include black civilians who may have had nothing to do with the guerrillas. While the South Africans claim to be successfully decimating the Angola-based S.W.A.P.O. army of about 8000 men and women, a tour of this border area last week indicated that they are making little headway in winning the war that started 15 years ago.

A visit to Ruacana right at the Angolan border was a poignant example.

At first, the Polish-born veteran of the Battle of Britain who was flying a group of foreign journelists in -an unmarked South African DC4 declined to fly to Ruacana. He was afraid of ground fire, he said, particularly because the fuel tanks of the plane are in its unprotected underbelly. He finally either agreed or was ordered to make the trip, which he flew at treetop level to avoid Sam 7 missiles. rln a statement two weeks ago, S.W.A.P.O. claimed ,to have levelled off Ruacana, an important military base guarding a hydroelectric generating plant at the Cunene River.

There was no seeming evidence that the S.W.A.P.O. attack had caused any major damage — the guerrilla organisation claimed that more than 100 South African troops were killed in the rocket attack — but many of the soldiers escorting the foreign journalists were nervous.

Yet. Commandant Eric Lamprecht said, “This area is very inactive; we don’t see S.W.A’P.O. here.”

Top South African commanders, including General Lloyd, acknowledge that their troops are involved in “hot pursuit" of S.W.A.P.O. guerrillas across the Angola border. At thhe same time, General Lloyd denied recent Angolan charges that South African troops have invaded southern Angola. But journalists in Windhoek. the Namibian capital, gave little credence to General Lloyd’s denials.

They pointed out that- it has been standard military procedure for South Africa to initially deny any foreign news reports of escalated military activity. After about two weeks, however, most of those reports are officially acknowledged as having at least some truth to them, they said. Various intelligent;; sources say that South Africans have for a longtime maintained semi-per-. manent stations 50km to 60km inside the Angolan border.