Cassinga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cassinga is a former town in the Huíla province of southern Angola.
The incorrect transliteration Kassinga is also commonly used, with the "K" being a mutation of the original Portuguese name either by German miners, or by indigenous people in whose language the letter "K" is also common. Photographs of the name in stone next to the road indicate local use the original Portuguese spelling.
Nearby is the site of an old iron ore mine once owned by Krupp, but abandoned at the start of the Angolan Civil War. It was also the site of the Battle of Cassinga (4 May 1978), a South African airborne attack on a South-West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) base which was reportedly also a refugee camp.
[edit] Railway
Japanese interests wish to reopen the iron ore mine and link it by rail to the Namibian port of Walvis Bay, this being the most efficient port in the region.
[edit] See also
- Cassinga Day, a national holiday in Namibia honouring those killed during the Battle of Cassinga.
- Chamutete - another iron ore mine
- Transport in Angola
- Iron ore in Africa
[edit] References