978-1-4222-3430-3

The next several decades were difficult in the territory. Angola, just to the north of South West Africa, gained independence from Portugal in 1975, but this move came in the middle of a civil war. The fighting in Angola spilled over into South West Africa, with SWAPO rebels hiding in Angola and South African troops invading to arrest them for terrorist actions. One faction of the Angolan war was supported by Cuban forces, while South Africa supported another,and a third was made up of internal Angolan forces. By the late 1980s, both Cuba and South Africa had tired of the war in Angola. SouthWest Africa could not develop into a functioning nation—or even a thriving territory of South Africa as that country had hoped—until the war ended. In 1988, Cuba and South Africa pulled their forces out of Angola. South Africa agreed to help South West Africa begin the process of independence. In 1990, South West Africa created a constitution, held elections, and became the independent nation of Namibia. Diplomatic assistance by the United Nations was important in helping this change take place. If the

Cape Town in South Africa, which hoped to annex South West Africa permanently under its League of Nations Mandate over the territory.

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United Nations