Swapo

Guerrilla leader Sam Nujoma, in a move that could salvage Namibia's imperiled independence process, called on his 1,900 soldiers in northern Namibia late Saturday to stop fighting, regroup at U.N. assembly points and withdraw across the border into Angola within 72 hours. Nujoma's plea came on the eighth day of bloody battles between his South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) rebels and South African-backed police and soldiers. At least 289 SWAPO guerrillas and 27 police and soldiers have been killed in the fighting, which began with a SWAPO invasion only hours after the U.N.-sponsored peace plan for Namibia got under way on April 1. "We have come to this difficult decision because we are aware of the historic responsibility that we have to our people and to humanity as a whole," Nujoma said in a statement issued from SWAPO's exile headquarters in Luanda, Angola.

The South African army ran a multimillion-dollar covert scheme, code-named Operation Agree, to prop up its political friends during 1989 elections in Namibia and smear the favored South-West Africa People's Organization, a former military agent said Friday.

South African-led security forces in northern Namibia freed captured guerrillas and withdrew to their bases so remaining rebels could return unhindered to neighboring Angola. The agreement for the 60-hour South African confinement to bases cleared the way for guerrillas of the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) to pull out and is intended to put a U.N. independence plan for the country back on track. The plan came close to collapse when fighting broke out April 1 as about 1,600 guerrillas crossed from Angola into the territory, in violation of the U.N. plan.

Leftist guerrillas, who entered politics after a 23-year war for independence from South Africa, captured a 57% majority in a U.N.-sponsored national election Tuesday, giving them an important but not decisive say in drawing up a new constitution. Several hundred supporters of the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), which had waged one of Africa's longest and bloodiest liberation struggles, danced merrily on Kaiser Street in downtown Windhoek as news of the election results spread.

U.N. officials and Namibia's South African-appointed administrator Friday extended to April 21 the deadline for an estimated 900 black nationalist guerrillas to withdraw to Angola to salvage the independence plan for this South-African controlled territory. The previous deadline for the guerrilla withdrawal was today. "A prolonged stalemate in the affected areas is in no one's interest," a joint statement said. Gerhard Roux, spokesman for administrator Louis Pienaar, said Friday that 13 guerrillas have been killed in battles with security forces in the last several days.

The government said Friday that South African forces will be confined to their bases in northern Namibia for 60 hours next week so black nationalist guerrillas can withdraw to Angola without confrontation. Foreign Minister Roelof F. (Pik) Botha said the security forces will remain at their bases from 6 p.m., April 26, until 6 a.m., April 29. South Africa plans to obtain cassette recordings from Angolan officials in which commanders of the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO)

Namibia will soon be given a broad measure of autonomy by South Africa, President Pieter W. Botha said Thursday, in a move certain to provoke new international controversy over long-delayed plans to grant independence to the remote desert territory.

Sam Nujoma, leader of the SWAPO guerrilla movement, received a hero's welcome today as he ended 30 years in exile to compete for political power in soon-to-be-independent Namibia. Tight security measures were in force because of threats on Nujoma's life and the assassination Tuesday of Anton Lubowski, the only white with a leadership post in the South-West Africa People's Organization. Earlier today, police announced the arrest of a suspect in the assassination of Lubowski.

A group of 153 men, women and children held captive by the Namibian guerrilla organization SWAPO flew to Windhoek on Tuesday under the terms of an independence plan for the South African-run territory. They said they were among about 2,000 dissidents imprisoned and tortured by the South-West Africa People's Organization during its guerrilla war to gain independence for Namibia. SWAPO leaders say they held only 201 dissidents and have released them all.

Sam Nujoma, leader of the South-West African People's Organization, has thanked the Soviet Union for aiding his cause and criticized the United States, West Germany and Britain. The Soviet Communist Party daily Pravda published a speech Monday that Nujoma made last week at the party's 27th congress in Moscow. Nujoma is fighting for independence for Namibia (South-West Africa) and has visited Moscow several times in the past. South Africa says SWAPO receives Soviet arms.

Sam Nujoma, leader of the SWAPO guerrilla movement, received a hero's welcome today as he ended 30 years in exile to compete for political power in soon-to-be-independent Namibia. Tight security measures were in force because of threats on Nujoma's life and the assassination Tuesday of Anton Lubowski, the only white with a leadership post in the South-West Africa People's Organization. Earlier today, police announced the arrest of a suspect in the assassination of Lubowski.

Theo-Ben Gurirab, a young teacher with dreams of black liberation, stuffed some carefully falsified identity papers into his pocket 27 years ago and stole onto an outbound train just ahead of the South African authorities. Once outside Namibia's borders, he earned a master's degree at an American university, married an American fashion merchandiser--and helped guide one of Africa's bloodiest guerrilla wars.

A group of 153 men, women and children held captive by the Namibian guerrilla organization SWAPO flew to Windhoek on Tuesday under the terms of an independence plan for the South African-run territory. They said they were among about 2,000 dissidents imprisoned and tortured by the South-West Africa People's Organization during its guerrilla war to gain independence for Namibia. SWAPO leaders say they held only 201 dissidents and have released them all.

South African-led security forces left their bases to begin tracking any black nationalist guerrillas left in northern Namibia, the South African Broadcasting Corp. reported. The troops had been confined to their bases since Wednesday to give guerrillas from the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) time to retreat to Angola. Under a U.N.-monitored plan to end South African control of Namibia, the guerrillas were to stay at their bases outside Namibia until mid-May, when they would be allowed to return unarmed.

The government said Friday that South African forces will be confined to their bases in northern Namibia for 60 hours next week so black nationalist guerrillas can withdraw to Angola without confrontation. Foreign Minister Roelof F. (Pik) Botha said the security forces will remain at their bases from 6 p.m., April 26, until 6 a.m., April 29. South Africa plans to obtain cassette recordings from Angolan officials in which commanders of the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO)

U.N. officials and Namibia's South African-appointed administrator Friday extended to April 21 the deadline for an estimated 900 black nationalist guerrillas to withdraw to Angola to salvage the independence plan for this South-African controlled territory. The previous deadline for the guerrilla withdrawal was today. "A prolonged stalemate in the affected areas is in no one's interest," a joint statement said. Gerhard Roux, spokesman for administrator Louis Pienaar, said Friday that 13 guerrillas have been killed in battles with security forces in the last several days.

Five people were injured when a bomb exploded at a discotheque in Oluno in northern Namibia (South-West Africa), police said Monday. The identity of the bombers was not known. However, police blamed the South-West Africa People's Organization, a nationalist guerrilla group based in Angola, for six earlier bombings in Namibia this year.

Guerrilla leader Sam Nujoma, in a move that could salvage Namibia's imperiled independence process, called on his 1,900 soldiers in northern Namibia late Saturday to stop fighting, regroup at U.N. assembly points and withdraw across the border into Angola within 72 hours. Nujoma's plea came on the eighth day of bloody battles between his South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) rebels and South African-backed police and soldiers. At least 289 SWAPO guerrillas and 27 police and soldiers have been killed in the fighting, which began with a SWAPO invasion only hours after the U.N.-sponsored peace plan for Namibia got under way on April 1. "We have come to this difficult decision because we are aware of the historic responsibility that we have to our people and to humanity as a whole," Nujoma said in a statement issued from SWAPO's exile headquarters in Luanda, Angola.