Umkhonto we Sizwe

Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) (Spear of the Nation) was the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC). Founded December 16, 1961, by the ANC and South African Communist Party (SACP) as the answer to the political, social and economical oppression against blacks by the South African Apartheid regime; future South African President Nelson Mandela was among its leaders. The MK carried out numerous bombings of military, industrial, civilian and infrastructural sites. The tactics were initially geared towards sabotage, not targeting people, but eventually tactics of urban guerrilla warfare were also used. Notable among these is the January 8, 1982 (to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the formation of the ANC), attack on the Koeberg nuclear power plant in Cape Town and the 14 June 1986 car-bombing of Magoo's Bar in Durban in which 3 people were killed and 73 injured. Umkhonto we Sizwe was officially disbanded on August 1, 1990.

See also: ANC, Apartheid, History of South Africa