The South African Border War , also known as the Namibian War of Independence , and sometimes denoted Writing in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War , was a largely asymmetric conflict Hostile_encounter that occurred Presence in Namibia ( then South West Africa ) , Zambia , and Angola from 26 August 1966 to 21 March 1990 .

Following several decades of unsuccessful petitioning Request through the United Nations and the International Court of Justice for Namibian independence , SWAPO formed Creating the PLAN in 1962 with material assistance Assistance from the Soviet Union , the People 's Republic of China , and sympathetic African states such as Tanzania , Ghana , and Algeria .