Deadline Extended for Namibia Rebel Pullout

U.N. officials and Namibia’s South African-appointed administrator Friday extended to April 21 the deadline for an estimated 900 black nationalist guerrillas to withdraw to Angola to salvage the independence plan for this South-African controlled territory.

The previous deadline for the guerrilla withdrawal was today.

“A prolonged stalemate in the affected areas is in no one’s interest,” a joint statement said.

Gerhard Roux, spokesman for administrator Louis Pienaar, said Friday that 13 guerrillas have been killed in battles with security forces in the last several days. It was the first official report of fighting between South African-led security forces and guerrillas of the South-West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) since last weekend, when the two sides agreed that SWAPO fighters would safely withdraw from Namibia.

Over 300 Reported Killed

Fighting erupted April 1, the first day of a cease-fire starting a yearlong U.N. process to make Namibia independent. Since then, territorial officials say, 276 guerrillas and 27 security force members have been killed. SWAPO says its losses are much lower and charges that one fifth of those killed were civilians.

South African Foreign Minister Roelof F. (Pik) Botha said Friday that 1,600 guerrillas have infiltrated into northern Namibia from Angola since April 1. Of those, about 350 have withdrawn from Namibia, 22 have been captured, and about 900 remain in the territory, Botha said.

Last weekend, South African, Cuban and Angolan officials negotiated safe passage back to Angola for guerrillas who report to U.N.-monitored checkpoints.

As of Friday evening, however, only five guerrillas had reported. Others who withdrew apparently did so on their own.