May 4th marks 46 years since apartheid South African troops attacked a refugee camp in southern Angola, killing hundreds of people, the majority being women and children.

Since the 1978 massacre, 4 May in Namibia has been commemorated as Cassinga Day, named for the camp sheltering an estimated 11,000 to 12,000 Namibians who had crossed the border into Angola to escape fighting between apartheid forces and South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) freedom fighters. SWAPO had taken up arms to free Namibia from South African occupation.

The attack on the refugee camp, located about 240 kilometres north of the Angola-Namibia border, started just after 7 a.m., when fighter planes began bombardments. Shortly afterwards, estimates say almost 400 South African paratroopers descended on the camp under ‘Operation Reindeer.’

Five hours later, South African troopers had left a trail of blood and destruction, having killed close to 800 Namibians and injured more than 1,000 people in one of the bloodiest days in the struggle against the apartheid regime.

As news of the massacre spread, the world reacted with horror. The South African apartheid regime claimed the Cassinga camp was a SWAPO military base housing trained fighters. However, the only fighters present provided security at the majority-civilian camp. Further, the United Nations and a media delegation that visited the camp shortly after the attack confirmed South Africa had killed refugees.

For instance, Guardian News Service journalist Jane Bergerol’s report stated, ‘The camp has been almost totally destroyed. Three walls of the school remain standing. Inside is the rubble of home-made desks, English-language lesson books, exercises in Ovambo and English. Most of the children we saw were under 12 years old.’

We mourn the deaths of the Namibian refugees who fled an apartheid regime, and we salute SWAPO freedom fighters who eventually prevailed as part of the broader anti-apartheid movement.