People's Liberation Army of Namibia

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The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the Military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) during the South African Border War. Throughout its history, PLAN had both irregular insurgent and semi-conventional units, as well as an extensive recruitment network in rural South West Africa (Namibia). During the war most of its domestic activities consisted of mine warfare and acts of sabotage. PLAN initially lacked any standing units, and the bulk of operations were carried out by political exiles who spent cyclical periods residing in refugee camps in neighbouring states before launching raids inside South West Africa itself. By the end of the war, PLAN had 32,000 militants under arms, including three battalions of semi-conventional troops equipped with heavy weapons. PLAN launched its largest and final offensive in late April and early May 1989. Thereafter...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Station Chief, Southern Africa Branch, Africa Division, Central Intelligence Agency Office of African and Latin American Analyses (Name of actual individual has been redacted), Public domain