Namibia Independence

The battle to gain Independence in Namibia
Over the course of history, Namibia struggled to gain it's independence from both Germany and then South Africa. Until World War 1, Namibia was occupied by Germany. At the end of that conflict, South Africa took over control and it wasn't until 1990 that Namibia would become fully independent.

Over the course of the nearly 80 years Namibia was under South African rule, the Namibian people would fight for their own country which would cost them countless lives against the oppression of South African rule.

The main conflict was referred to as the Namibian War of Independence, or the South African Border War and lasted mainly from 1966 to 1988. It was fought as mainly guerrilla warfare against the then apartheid South African government by the South-West Africa's People's Organisation (SWAPO).

The country was called South West Africa and not officially recognised by the United Nations as a country after 1966. The territory was under UN control between this period and the eventual Independence. South Africa however never took this on board and it was considered they controlled the country by de facto.
The first string of battles that started the Namibian War of Independence was on August the 26th 1966 when the SWAPO troops attacked a South African defence force base in Omugulugwombahe. This date since has been referred to as 'Heroes' Day' or 'Namibia Day' ever since.

After many other battles over the next 24 years, Namibia finally became an independent country on the 21st of March 1990 and has remained so over since. It ended an extremely long battle by the Namibian people to have a country of their own to celebrate their unique culture and land they live on.