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{{short description|Car bomb attack}}
{{Apartheid}}
The '''Church Street bombing''' was a terrorist [[car bomb]] attack on 20 May 1983 in the South African capital [[Pretoria]] by [[uMkhonto we Sizwe]] (MK), the [[paramilitary]] wing of the [[African National Congress]]. The bombing killed 19 people, including the two perpetrators, and wounded 217.<ref name="BBC1983">{{cite news|title=1983: Car bomb in South Africa kills 16|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=14 March 2015|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/20/newsid_4326000/4326975.stm}}</ref><ref name=trc-sapa98>{{cite news|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/media/1998/9805/s980506b.htm|title=ANC Mastermind Campaign Justifies Pretoria Church Street Blast|date=6 May 1998|publisher=SAPA|access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref>
==Attack==
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==Truth Commission hearing==
In submissions to the [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]] (TRC) in 1997 and 1998, the ANC revealed that the
The ANC's submission said the bombing was in response to a South African cross-[[Lesotho-South Africa border|border]] raid into [[Lesotho]] in December 1982, which killed 42 ANC supporters
Ten MK operatives, including Aboobaker Ismail, applied for amnesty for this and other bombings. The applications were opposed on various grounds, including that it was a terrorist attack disproportionate to the political motive. The TRC found that the number of civilians versus military personnel killed was unclear. Police statistics indicated that seven members of the [[South African Air Force|SAAF]] were killed. The commission found that at least 84 of the injured were SAAF members or employees. Amnesty was granted by the TRC in 2000.<ref name=amnesty>{{cite web|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/decisions%5C2001/ac21003.htm|title=Truth and Reconciliation Commission Amnesty Committee AC/2001/003|date=16 January 2000|access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref>
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