SADF responds to allegations by FAPLA

Following a press conference of General Staff Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio dos Santos Franca Ndalu, Chief of ForÁƒÂƒÂ§as Armadas Populares de LibertaÁƒÂƒÂ§ÁƒÂƒ£o de Angola (FAPLA ), during which he declared that his forces had killed over 230 South African troops in the course of the offensive and had destroyed large numbers of vehicles, the South African Defence Force (SADF) responded by claiming that not all the soldiers that were killed were theirs. SADF admitted to the loss of only twelve soldiers, meaning the rest that were claimed by Dos Santos belonged to South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO). It was believed in many quarters that the SADF was using tactics to cover-up the actual number of soldiers killed, for fear of antagonising the public against involvement in a war that was not theirs at all. South African President P.W. Botha even paid a visit to the area where many causalities of the war occurred, in order to boost the morale of the soldiers. In spite of this unfolding of events the SADF vehemently denied Dos Santos's version of casualties and correspondences that were leaked to the South African press.