South African forces mounted 49 reconnaissance flights into Angola during January and February 1983, strafing incidents, three air and ground bombardments and three troop landings inside Angola. Eighty four South African aircraft and eight helicopters were involved in these missions.
A communique issued by the Angolan Ministry of Defence at the end of March, summarising South African aggression over the first two months of the year, also referred to five 'concentrations' of South African troops and reminded the public that South African forces continued to occupy Southern Angola and to carry out operations in 'several zones'.
The communiqué listed the zones and added that a total of eight South African battalions were stationed inside Angola at various locations, including Ngiva and Xangbongo.
The Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Jorge, told an international solidarity conference in Lisbon on 26 March that Pretoria had seized on a further pretext for blocking progress on the Namibian settlement negotiations. This was the claim that SWAPO guerillas were mounting a fresh offensive against targets inside Namibia, from bases in Angola. The Foreign Minister pointed out that some of the guerilla attacks in question had occurred near Windhoek, and that Pretoria also appeared to have 'forgotten that a considerable part of the Angolan territory from which the SWAPO fighters used to bring food to those at the front inside Namibia is being occupied by its troops'. In any case, 'it would mean starting on a wrong basis to expect SWAPO to inform us beforehand or to ask permission before launching its attacks, or to seek the Angolan Government's permission before carrying out raids inside its own country.
The Angolan government warned at the beginning of the year that South Africa was planning to extend its zone of military occupation as far north as the city of Lubango. Communiques also referred to the presence of Israeli military instructors in Namibia training Angolan 'puppet' groups.
Sources in Lubango itself reported during February that South African reconnaissance flights had come within 60 km of the city, but that further South African bombardments were unlikely due to the installation of up-to-date radar equipment to protect the city and its airport. (Particularly serious damage was caused to Lubango in September 1979, when a furniture factory was destroyed, 26 people killed and 75 injured in a South African bombing raid).
