Mozambican Civil War
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The Mozambican Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Moçambicana) was a
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
fought in
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
from 1977 to 1992. Like many regional African conflicts during the late twentieth century, the Mozambican Civil War possessed local dynamics but was also exacerbated greatly by the polarizing effects of
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
politics. The war was fought between Mozambique's ruling Marxist
Mozambique Liberation Front FRELIMO (; from the Portuguese , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It is the dominant party in Mozambique and has won a majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Republic in every election since the country's first ...
(FRELIMO), the anti-communist insurgent forces of the
Mozambican National Resistance RENAMO (from the Portuguese , ) is a Mozambican political party and militant group. The party was founded with the active sponsorship of the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in May 1977 from anti-communist dissidents opposed ...
(RENAMO), and a number of smaller factions such as the PRM, UNAMO, COREMO, UNIPOMO, and FUMO. RENAMO opposed FRELIMO's attempts to establish a
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
, and was heavily backed by the anti-communist governments of
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
who supported them as a
proxy Proxy may refer to: * Proxy or agent (law), a substitute authorized to act for another entity or a document which authorizes the agent so to act * Proxy (climate), a measured variable used to infer the value of a variable of interest in climate ...
to undermine FRELIMO support for militant nationalist organisations in their own countries. Over one million Mozambicans were killed in the fighting or starved due to interrupted food supplies; an additional five million were displaced across the region. The Mozambican Civil War destroyed much of Mozambique's critical rural infrastructure, including hospitals, rail lines, roads, and schools. FRELIMO's security forces and RENAMO insurgents were accused of committing numerous human rights abuses, including using
child soldier Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, includ ...
s and salting a significant percentage of the countryside indiscriminately with
land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s. Three neighboring states—
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
,
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, and
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
—eventually deployed troops into Mozambique to defend their own vested economic interests against RENAMO attacks. The Mozambican Civil War ended in 1992, following the collapse of Soviet and South African support for FRELIMO and RENAMO, respectively. Direct peace talks began around 1990 with the mediation of the Mozambican Church Council and the Italian government; these culminated in the
Rome General Peace Accords The Rome General Peace Accords, officially the General Peace Accords (), was a peace treaty signed between the government of Mozambique and RENAMO, ending the Mozambican Civil War on October 4, 1992. Negotiations preceding the agreement began in ...
which formally ended hostilities. As a result of the Rome General Peace Accords, RENAMO units were demobilised or integrated into the Mozambican armed forces and the
United Nations Operation in Mozambique The United Nations Operations in Mozambique (ONUMOZ, pt, Operação das Nações Unidas em Moçambique) was a UN peace mission to Mozambique established in December 1992 under Security Council Resolution 797 with the assignment to monitor the i ...
(ONUMOZ) was formed to aid in postwar reconstruction. Tensions between RENAMO and FRELIMO flared again between 2013 and 2018, prompting the former to resume its insurgency and crumbling into pieces the long reproduced narrative of a successful reconciliation. This smaller second conflict ended with a peace treaty in 2019.


Background


Independence

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
fought a long and bitter counter-insurgency conflict in its three primary African colonies—
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
,
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
, and
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...
—from the 1960s to the mid-1970s, when they finally received independence following the
Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...
. In Mozambique, the armed struggle against colonial rule was spearheaded by the
Front for the Liberation of Mozambique FRELIMO (; from the Portuguese language, Portuguese , ) is a democratic socialist List of political parties in Mozambique, political party in Mozambique. It is the Dominant-party system, dominant party in Mozambique and has won a majority of the ...
(FRELIMO), which was initially formed in exile but later succeeded in wresting control of large sections of the country from the Portuguese. FRELIMO drew its initial base of support primarily from Mozambican migrant workers and expatriate intellectuals who had been exposed to the emerging popularity of anti-colonial and nationalist causes overseas, as well as the Makonde and other ethnic groups in northern Mozambique, where Portuguese influence was weakest. The bulk of its members were drawn from Makonde workers who had witnessed pro-independence rallies in British-ruled
Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...
. In September 1964, FRELIMO commenced an armed insurgency against the Portuguese. Its decision to take up arms was influenced by a number of internal and external factors, namely the recent successes of indigenous anti-colonial guerrilla movements in
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
and
French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...
, as well as encouragement from contemporary African statesmen such as
Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella ( ar, أحمد بن بلّة '; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian politician, soldier and socialist revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 an ...
,
Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
, and
Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, aft ...
. FRELIMO guerrillas initially received training primarily in North Africa and the Middle East in countries such as
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
, with the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
providing military equipment. Portugal responded by embarking on a massive buildup of military personnel and security forces in Mozambique. It also established close defence ties with two of Mozambique's neighbours,
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. In 1970, the Portuguese launched
Operation Gordian Knot Operation Gordian Knot (''Operação Nó Górdio'') was the largest and most expensive Portuguese military campaign in the Portuguese overseas province of Mozambique, East Africa. The operation was carried out in 1970, during the Portuguese Colo ...
, which was initially successful at eliminating large numbers of FRELIMO guerrillas and their support bases in the north of the country; however, the redeployment of so many Portuguese troops to northern Mozambique allowed FRELIMO to intensify its operations elsewhere in the country. The following year, Portugal established an informal military alliance with Rhodesia and South Africa known as the
Alcora Exercise Alcora Exercise ( pt, Exercício Alcora, af, Alcora Oefening) or simply Alcora was a secret military alliance between South Africa, Portugal, and Rhodesia, formally in force between 1970 and 1974. The code name "Alcora" being an acronym for " ...
. Representatives from the defence establishments of the three countries agreed to meet periodically to share intelligence and coordinate operations against militant nationalist movements in their respective countries. Simultaneously, FRELIMO also pursued close relations with the latter; for example, by 1971 it had cultivated an alliance with the
Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant African nationalist organisation that participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhod ...
(ZANLA). ZANLA insurgents were permitted to infiltrate Rhodesia from FRELIMO-held territory. During the late 1960s, the
Azanian People's Liberation Army The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), formerly known as Poqo, was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, an African nationalist movement in South Africa. In the Xhosa language, the word 'Poqo' means 'pure'. After attacks on ...
(APLA) also took advantage of the gradual disintegration of Portuguese military control in Mozambique to begin infiltrating South Africa from that territory. In April 1974, Portugal's longstanding Estado Novo political order was dismantled as a result of the Carnation Revolution. The revolution also brought to power a military junta known as the Armed Forces Movement, which was committed to divesting itself of the colonies and ending the increasingly costly African wars. The turmoil in the
metropole A metropole (from the Greek ''metropolis'' for "mother city") is the homeland, central territory or the state exercising power over a colonial empire. From the 19th century, the English term ''metropole'' was mainly used in the scope of ...
was mirrored by increasing instability in Mozambique and a further weakening of Portugal's grip on its East African colony. Various new political parties were formed in Mozambique, including several by FRELIMO splinter factions, during the following months in anticipation of multi-party elections. However, FRELIMO insisted on being recognised as the sole legitimate representative of the new Mozambican nation. It rejected proposals for multi-party elections and took advantage of the chaos in the Portuguese military establishment to intensify its guerrilla campaign. In early September 1974, Portugal announced it was acceding to FRELIMO's request. No elections were going to be held in Mozambique; instead, after a nine-month transition period, the positions of local government would simply be handed to FRELIMO officials. The Portuguese decision to effect a transfer to power to FRELIMO, without a local referendum or elections, was greeted with intense trepidation by Portugal's traditional Cold War allies: South Africa, Rhodesia, and the United States. The US government predicted that an independent Mozambique under the direction of FRELIMO would be heavily influenced by the Soviet bloc. Black opposition movements in South Africa declared that they would bring FRELIMO officials to address rallies being held near Durban, Johannesburg, and at the University of Northern Transvaal. The South African authorities banned the demonstrations, but activists proceeded anyway in defiance of the police. By the end of the year, sixty people had been arrested for organising pro-FRELIMO rallies. In Mozambique, the announcement sparked an uprising by right-wing elements in the white population, joined by disgruntled veterans of the colonial army and some black Mozambicans outraged by FRELIMO's pending unilateral assumption of power. The rebels appealed to South Africa and Rhodesia for military assistance to preempt the installation of a FRELIMO government. However, South African prime minister
B. J. Vorster Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; also known as John Vorster; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983) was a South African apartheid politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state presid ...
was unwilling to intervene, fearing condemnation from the international community for any interference with the decolonisation process in a neighbouring country. Rhodesian prime minister
Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...
was more sympathetic to the rebels' cause but felt that he would unable to act without the guarantee of South African support. The uprising was eventually crushed after four days by an unlikely coalition of Portuguese and FRELIMO forces. On 25 June 1975 Mozambique formally gained independence from Portugal, with FRELIMO Leader
Samora Machel Samora Moisés Machel (29 September 1933 – 19 October 1986) was a Mozambican military commander and political leader. A socialist in the tradition of Marxism–Leninism, he served as the first President of Mozambique from the country's ...
becoming President of the
People's Republic of Mozambique The People's Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: ''República Popular de Moçambique'') was a socialist state that existed in present day Mozambique from 1975 to 1990. The People's Republic of Mozambique was established when the country gained ...
.


Geo-political situation

The independence of Mozambique and
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
in 1975 challenged white minority rule in Southern Africa. Firstly, the independence wars in Angola and Mozambique demonstrated that even with great military resources it was virtually impossible for a small white minority to guarantee the safety of its members, let alone to exert control over a mobilised and agitated population outside of major power centres. The downfall of Portuguese colonial rule gave hope to black liberation struggles in the then apartheid
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
. Second, in both countries revolutionary
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
movements gained power. These movements had been cooperating with the black liberation movements in South Africa and Rhodesia, and continued to openly support them, offering them a safe haven from where they could coordinate their operations and train new forces. As President Machel put it in a speech in 1975: "The struggle in Zimbabwe is our struggle". The independence of Mozambique was especially devastating for white-ruled Rhodesia in multiple aspects. The Rhodesian armed forces lacked the manpower to effectively protect its border with Mozambique against entering ZANLA insurgents. At the same time, the apartheid government and the Smith regime lost Portugal as an ally and with it the tens of thousands of soldiers that had been deployed in the Portuguese colonial wars. Additionally Rhodesia used Mozambican ports as their primary means for imports and exports, with over 80% of all imports passing through Maputo and Beira into the heavily sanctioned country. The loss of these ports after President Machel declared sanctions against the country further weakened the already fragile economy of Rhodesia and angered the Ian Smith regime. Thus with the South African and Rhodesian white minority government position severely weakened by the events of 1974/75 both governments sought to undermine the newly independent countries and to shatter FRELIMO's goal of building the first, non-racial socialist state in Southern Africa.Bob and Amy Coen, "Mozambique: The Struggle for Survival" Video Africa, 1987 The countries capacity to support national liberation movements also concerned South Africa and Rhodesia and both countries sought for a first strike strategy to counter this new threat. This manifested itself in the Rhodesia-sponsored foundation of
RENAMO RENAMO (from the Portuguese , ) is a Mozambican political party and militant group. The party was founded with the active sponsorship of the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in May 1977 from anti-communist dissidents oppose ...
, then called the Mozambique National Resistance (MNR), in 1974 and in South Africa's adoption of the " Total National Strategy".


Internal Mozambican tensions


FRELIMO dissidents

Soon after independence, FRELIMO begun Mozambique's transformation into a socialist one-party-state. This was accompanied by crackdowns on dissidents and the nationalisation of important economic facilities abandoned by fleeing Portuguese. Numerous political parties sprung up virtually overnight and vied for power with FRELIMO. Many of these parties like COREMO and UNAR were made up of FRELIMO dissidents such as
Uria Simango Uria Timoteo Simango (born 15 March 1926) was a Mozambican Presbyterian minister and prominent leader of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) during the liberation struggle against Portuguese colonial rule. His precise date of death is un ...
and Lazaro Nkavandame. Both men were arrested and convicted in a public trial before
Samora Machel Samora Moisés Machel (29 September 1933 – 19 October 1986) was a Mozambican military commander and political leader. A socialist in the tradition of Marxism–Leninism, he served as the first President of Mozambique from the country's ...
before being sent to re-education camps. Simango was reportedly later extrajudicially executed whilst Nkavandame reportedly died of natural causes. Furthermore, the nationalisation of many formerly Portuguese-owned enterprises, fear of a retaliation against whites, and an ultimatum to either accept Mozambican citizenship or leave the country within 90 days, drove the majority of the 370,000 white Portuguese Mozambicans out of the country. As the Portuguese left some purposefully sabotaged the economy, stealing profits from factories, driving tractors into the sea and pouring cement into sewers. The Portuguese exodus resulted in economic chaos as only few Africans had received higher education or even primary education under Portuguese rule with over 95% of the population illiterate.


Overturning of traditional hierarchies and re-education camps

As a revolutionary Marxist party, FRELIMO embarked on overturning traditional, tribal governance structures that grew extensively under the Portuguese colonial rule in an effort to counter regionalism and tribalism to build a single, national identity. Shortly after independence many local chiefs were ousted and removed from positions of power and many dissidents were imprisoned in re-education camps. Another source of conflict was the continuation of the aldeamento system that the Portuguese had introduced as a means of exerting control and inhibiting contact between the population and the rebels. It coerced thousands of peasants to move into communal villages and communal farms where they were given food, water and healthcare, but lacked adequate tools and money to farm effectively. FRELIMO hoped that this system would enable the fulfilment of its ambitious agricultural development goals, but the implementation often alienated parts of the rural population, whom FRELIMO had popular support from during the independence struggle. This was especially the case in central and northern Mozambique, where households are traditionally separated by considerable distances.


Course of the war


Outbreak

From 1975 to 1979, Rhodesian troops and forces repeatedly entered into Mozambique in order to carry out operations against supposed ZANLA (Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army) bases tolerated on Mozambican territory by the FRELIMO government and to destabilise the FRELIMO government directly. These included the bombing of the Beira Port in 1979 and the occupation of the town of Mapai in 1977. During one such raid, Rhodesian forces freed FRELIMO ex-official
André Matsangaissa André Matsangaissa (also spelled Matsangaiza) (1950? – 17 October 1979) was a Mozambican anti-communist rebel and the first leader of the Rhodesian-backed Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO). Born in Gorongosa, Mozambique, Matsangai ...
from a re-education camp. He was given military and organisational training and installed as the leader of the fledgling movement known as the ''Mozambique Resistance'', which had been founded by the Rhodesian secret service before the independence of Mozambique in 1975 as an intelligence gathering group on FRELIMO and ZANLA. It was created in Salisbury, Rhodesia under the auspices of
Ken Flower Kenneth Flower, GLM (1914 - 2 September 1987) was a Rhodesian police officer and intelligence chief. Biography Flower was born in Cornwall, England. After war service in British Somaliland and Ethiopia he returned to Rhodesia in 1948, rapidly r ...
, head of the Rhodesian CIO, and Orlando Cristina, a former anti-guerrilla operative for the Portuguese. RENAMO subsequently started operating in the Gorongosa region in order to destabilise the FRELIMO government and its support for the ZANLA movement against Rhodesia. RENAMO was composed of several anti-communist dissident groups which appeared immediately prior to, and shortly following, Mozambican independence. RENAMO's ranks included a number of Mozambican political exiles opposed FRELIMO on principle, including FRELIMO defectors disillusioned with its Marxist–Leninist ideology. In 1979, Matsangaissa died in RENAMO's unsuccessful first attack on a major regional centre (Vila Paiva) and RENAMO was quickly ousted from the region. Subsequently,
Afonso Dhlakama Afonso Marceta Macacho Dhlakama (1 January 1953 – 3 May 2018) was a Mozambican politician and the leader of RENAMO, an anti-communist guerrilla movement that fought the FRELIMO government in the Mozambican Civil War before signing a peace agr ...
became the new leader of RENAMO and with extensive South African support it quickly organised itself into an effective guerilla army. Other rebel groups, initially independent of RENAMO, also fought the FRELIMO government. The
Revolutionary Party of Mozambique , war = , image = , caption = , active = 1974/76–1982 , ideology = Anti-communismFreedom of religionDemocracy , position = , leaders = * Amos Sumane * Gimo Phiri , ...
(PRM), founded by Amos Sumane in 1974 or 1976, waged a low-level insurgency in the northern provinces of Zambezia,
Tete Tete is the capital city of Tete Province in Mozambique. It is located on the Zambezi River, and is the site of two of the four bridges crossing the river in Mozambique. A Swahili trade center before the Portuguese colonial era, Tete continues ...
and
Niassa Niassa is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 129,056 km2 and a population of 1,810,794 (2017). It is the most sparsely populated province in the country. Lichinga is the capital of the province. There are a minimum estimated 450,000 Ya ...
from 1977. Sumane was captured in 1980 and executed by the Mozambican government in 1981. PRM merged with RENAMO in 1982. In 1987, Gimo Phiri, who had succeeded Sumane in 1980 and later become a senior figure in RENAMO, created a splinter group, called UNAMO, which briefly fought both RENAMO and FRELIMO, before permanently joining the government side in 1988. Other rebel factions during the conflict included COREMO, UNIPOMO, and FUMO.


RENAMO strategies and operations

Having fought the Portuguese using guerrilla strategies, FRELIMO was now forced to defend itself against the very same methods it employed against the colonial regime. It had to defend vast areas and hundreds of locations, while RENAMO operated out of a few remote camps, carrying out raids against towns and important infrastructure. Furthermore, RENAMO systematically forced civilians into its employment. This was done by mass abduction and intimidation, especially of children in order to use them as soldiers. It is estimated that one-third of RENAMO forces were child soldiers. But abducted people also had to serve RENAMO in administrative or public service functions in the areas it controlled. Another way of using civilians for military purposes was the so-called system of "Gandira". This system especially affected the rural population in areas controlled by RENAMO, forcing them to fulfill three main tasks: 1) produce food for RENAMO, 2) transport goods and ammunition, 3) in the case of women, serve as sex slaves. RENAMO's stated goal was to free Mozambique from "Machelist Communism". RENAMO's political programme centered around the abandonment of FRELIMO's socialist policies, the adoption of a free market economy, and more traditionalist concerns such as the reinstatement of tribal leaders to positions of authority. Thus, despite its far superior numbers, FRELIMO was unable to adequately defend most regions except the most important cities by the mid-1980s. RENAMO was able to carry out raids virtually anywhere in the country except for the major cities. Transportation had become a perilous business. Even armed convoys were not safe from RENAMO attacks and were frequently attacked.


FRELIMO strategies and operations

FRELIMO reacted by reusing a system similar to the fortified villages ''aldeamentos'' introduced by the Portuguese: the creation of fortified communal villages called ''aldeamentos comunais'' where much of the rural population was relocated as the war intensified. Furthermore, in order to keep a minimum level of infrastructure working, three heavily guarded and mined corridors were established consisting of roads, railways and power lines: the Beira, the Tete (also called the Tete Run which speaks for itself regarding its safety) and the Limpopo Corridor. Despite extensive fortification along these corridors they were frequently subject to attacks, bombings of the railway line and locomotives along the Beira Corridor cost the FRELIMO government millions as it struggled to provide adequate food and services and put strains on its ally
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
.


Foreign support and intervention

FRELIMO initially received substantial military and development aid from the Soviet Union and East Germany but later received support from France, the UK and the U.S. In the U.S., conservative circles lobbied for the U.S Government to provide open support to RENAMO but were opposed by the State Department, which finally gained the upper hand following the publication of numerous, detailed reports which documented RENAMO's brutality. RENAMO received extensive military and logistical support from Rhodesia and South Africa as well as organisational support from West Germany. In 1982, landlocked Zimbabwe directly intervened in the civil war in order to secure its vital transport routes in Mozambique, stop cross-border RENAMO raids, and help its old ally FRELIMO. Zimbabwe's help became crucial to the defence of the corridors, particularly the important Beira corridor. Later Zimbabwe became engaged further, carrying out several joint operations with FRELIMO against RENAMO strongholds. Thus RENAMO had to give up its base camps in the Gorongosa area.
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
also sent troops to back FRELIMO.
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
, the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
and the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
also armed and trained FRELIMO forces, with the North Koreans establishing a Military Mission in Mozambique during the early 1980s North Korean advisers were instrumental in the formation of FRELIMO's first specialized counter-insurgency brigade, which was deployed from 1983 onward. East Germany provided military assistance and trained members of the Mozambican FPLM in the GDR. In the spring of 1977, the Romanian Socialist Army sent 500 soldiers and officers to Mozambique. The Romanians were deployed to
Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...
and
Nacala Nacala, also known as Cidade de Nacala or Nacala-Porto is a city on the northern coast of Mozambique. Located in the southwestern indentation of inner Fernao Veloso Bay, it is the deepest natural port on the east coast of Africa. Nacala serves as ...
. Specialized in operating tanks, these Romanian troops - under the supervision of some Soviet officers - trained Mozambican tank troops in the use of
T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, anti-tan ...
and
T-54 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the World War II, Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Mai ...
tanks. Malawi had a complicated relationship with both FRELIMO and RENAMO. During the mid-1980s, FRELIMO repeatedly accused Malawian president
Hastings Banda Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898 – 25 November 1997) was the Prime Minister of Malawi, prime minister and later President of Malawi, president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994 (from 1964 to 1966, Malawi was an independent Dominion / Commonwealth realm) ...
of providing sanctuary for RENAMO insurgents. Mozambican security forces occasionally carried out raids into Malawi to strike at suspected RENAMO base camps in that country, a practice which brought them into direct confrontation with the
Malawian Defence Force The Malawian Defence Force is the state military organisation responsible for defending Malawi. It originated from elements of the British King's African Rifles, colonial units formed before independence in 1964. The military is organized under ...
. In 1986, Malawi bowed to Mozambican pressure and expelled 12,000 RENAMO insurgents. Banda explicitly turned against RENAMO after the disgruntled insurgents began targeting a vital rail line which linked Blantyre to Mozambican ports on the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
coast. Beginning in April 1987 the Malawian government deployed troops into Mozambique to defend the rail line, where they were involved in a number of engagements with RENAMO. After 1980, South Africa became RENAMO's main supporter. The FRELIMO government, led by President Machel, was economically devastated by the war and sought to end the conflict and continue the development of Mozambique. Even the military and diplomatic support with the
socialist bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
could not alleviate the nation's economic misery and famine as a result of the war. After negotiations, a reluctant Machel signed a non-aggression pact with South Africa, known as the
Nkomati Accord The Nkomati Accord (officially known as the ''Agreement on Non-Aggression and Good Neighbourliness between Mozambique and South Africa'' ) was a non-aggression pact signed on 16 March 1984 between the People's Republic of Mozambique and the Rep ...
. In return,
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
promised to stop assistance to the MNR in exchange for FRELIMO's commitment to prevent the ANC from using Mozambique as a sanctuary to pursue its campaign to overthrow white minority rule in South Africa. Following a May 1983 car bombing in Pretoria, the South Africans bombed the capital, declaring they had killed 41 'ANC Terrorists' while in actuality killing three workers at a jam factory in Maputo.Joseph Hanlon, "Beggar Your Neighbours: Apartheid Power in Southern Africa, 1986 With the economy in shambles, Machel was forced to scale back some of the more ambitious socialist policies; in a visit to Western Europe that same month, Machel signed military and economic agreements with Portugal, France, and the UK. Collective and state agricultural programs were also scaled back, prompting concerns from the
socialist bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
that Mozambique was "moving straight and naively into the mouth of the evil capitalist wolf".Paul Fauvet, "Carlos Cardoso: Telling the Truth in Mozambique" Double Storey Books, 2003 The volume of direct South African government support for RENAMO diminished slightly after Nkomati Accord, but documents discovered during the capture of RENAMO headquarters at Gorongosa in central Mozambique in August 1985 revealed that the South African Army had continued and extended its already extensive logistical, communication and military support for RENAMO. FRELIMO, meanwhile, fully honoured its side of the deal to expel violent ANC members from its territory and to downgrade the ANC's presence in the south of the country.


Military stalemate

By the end of the 1980s RENAMO, whilst incapable of capturing or securing any large cities, was still able to move freely in rural areas and attack smaller settlements at will. FRELIMO retained control of larger urban areas and the corridors, but was unable to effectively protect the countryside from RENAMO attacks. FRELIMO was also unable to pin down RENAMO and force it into more direct conventional warfare. On 19 October 1986, President Machel died when his presidential aircraft
crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...
near South Africa's border under mysterious circumstances. A South African sponsored investigation concluded that the crash was caused by errors made by the flight crew, a conclusion that was not universally accepted. Subsequent investigations have failed to reach a conclusion and the accident remains surrounded by conspiracy theories claiming that South Africa was responsible for the crash. Machel's successor was
Joaquim Alberto Chissano Joaquim Alberto Chissano (born 22 October 1939) is a politician who served as the second President of Mozambique, from 1986 to 2005. He is credited with transforming the war-torn country of Mozambique into one of the most successful African demo ...
, who had served as foreign minister from 1975 until Machel's death. Chissano continued Machel's policies of expanding Mozambique's international ties, particularly the country's links with the West, and starting programs of internal economic and military reforms. During the war, hundreds of thousands of people died from famine, particularly the devastating famine of 1984.Zinsmeister, Karl. "All the Hungry People." REASON 20 (June 1988): 22-30. p. 88, 28Andersson, Hilary. MOZAMBIQUE: A WAR AGAINST THE PEOPLE. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. p. 64, 92 The famine was attributable to the weather conditions at the time but was significantly worsened by the conflict between RENAMO and FRELIMO.


War crimes

The Mozambican civil war saw war crimes committed by both sides on a massive scale and in an organised manner. No RENAMO or FRELIMO commanders have ever been prosecuted for war crimes due to an unconditional general amnesty law for the period from 1976 to 1992 passed by the Mozambican parliament (then still composed entirely of FRELIMO members) in 1992.


RENAMO

RENAMO systematically committed atrocities as part of its war and destabilization strategies. These included massacres, rapes and mutilation of non-combatants during attacks on villages and towns, the use of child soldiers and the employment of the Gandira system, which involved forced labour and sexual violence. Women would often be abducted in the fields, then raped as a means to boost troop morale. The Gandira system also contributed to famine, as the rural population was made to produce food for RENAMO and unable to produce food for themselves. Others were made to transport supplies for RENAMO in long marches. Refusing to participate in Gandira or falling behind on the marches would result in severe beating and often execution. Attempting to escape was also punished harshly. One particularly gruesome practice was the mutilation and killing of children left behind by escaped parents. RENAMO's brutal tactics quickly earned it a negative reputation among much of Mozambique's population who referred to them as "Armed Bandits" and endorsed beatings against them, even pressuring the military into a public execution of four RENAMO rebels in 1983. RENAMO's atrocities gained worldwide attention in July 1987, following a massacre of 424 civilians during a raid on the rural town of Homoine, which was lightly defended by 90 FRELIMO soldiers. The victims of the massacre included hospital patients. This incident prompted an investigation into RENAMO's tactics by US-State Department consultant Robert Gersony, which finally put an end to ambitions from some conservative politicians for US government support for RENAMO. The report concluded that RENAMO's attack in Homoine did not significantly differ from the tactics it normally employed in such raids. The report described RENAMO's methods in the following way:
The attack stage was sometimes reported to begin with what appeared to the inhabitants to be the indiscriminate firing of automatic weapons by a substantial force of attacking RENAMO combatants. ..Reportedly the Government soldiers aim their defensive fire at the attackers, while the RENAMO forces shoot indiscriminately into the village. In some cases refugees perceived that the attacking force had divided into three detachments: one conducts the military attack; another enters houses and removes valuables, mainly clothing, radios, food, pots and other possessions; a third moves through the looted houses with pieces of burning thatch setting fire to the houses in the village. There were several reports that schools and health clinics are typical targets for destruction. The destruction of the village as a viable entity appears to be the main objective of such attacks. This type of attack causes several types of civilian casualties. As is normal in guerrilla warfare, some civilians are killed in crossfire between the two opposing forces, although this tends in the view of the refugees to account for only a minority of the deaths. A larger number of civilians in these attacks and other contexts were reported to be victims of purposeful shooting deaths and executions, of axing, knifing, bayoneting, burning to death, forced drowning and asphyxiation, and other forms of murder where no meaningful resistance or defense is present. Eyewitness accounts indicate that when civilians are killed in these indiscriminate attacks, whether against defended or undefended villages, children, often together with mothers and elderly people, are also killed. Varying numbers of civilian victims in each attack were reported to be rounded up and abducted ..
According to the Gersony Report, RENAMO's abuses were far more systematic, widespread and serious than FRELIMO's: the refugees interviewed for the Gersony Report attributed 94% of murders, 94% of abductions and 93% of lootings to RENAMO. However, this conclusion has been disputed by the French Marxist scholar Michel Cahen, who states that both sides were equally to blame:
There can be no doubt that the war was largely one fought against civilians... I am also convinced that the war was equally savage on both sides, even if the total domination of the media by FRELIMO for the 15 years of the war has led even those most desirous of remaining objective to attribute the majority of the atrocities to RENAMO. The people themselves were not duped: they attributed various acts of banditry and certain massacres to "RENAMO 1," but others to "RENAMO 2" – the euphemistic term for FRELIMO soldiers and militiamen acting on their own.


FRELIMO

FRELIMO soldiers also committed serious war crimes during the civil war. FRELIMO forced people into its employment and conscription periods often extended beyond what the law allowed. Living in the communal villages became mandatory in certain provinces. However, in some areas, cultural norms required households to live at some distance apart from each other. Therefore, many people preferred living in the countryside despite the risk of RENAMO attacks. Thus people would often be forced into the communal villages at gunpoint by FRELIMO soldiers or their Zimbabwean allies. As a local recalls:
I never wanted to leave my old residence and come to the communal village. Even with the war, I wanted to stay where I had my land and granaries. Ever since a long time ago, we never lived with so many people together in the same place. Everyone must live in his own yard. The Komeredes imbabwean soldierscame to my house and said that I should leave my house and go to the communal village where there were a lot of people. I tried to refuse and then they set fire to my house, my granaries, and my fields. They threatened me with death and they told me and my family to go forward. Inside the communal village we lived like pigs. It was like a yard for pigs. We were so many people living close to each other. If someone slept with his wife everyone could listen to what they were doing. When we went to the fields or to the cemeteries to bury the dead, the soldiers had to come behind and in front of us. When the women went to the river to wash themselves, the soldiers had to go too and they usually saw our women naked. Everything was a complete shame inside that corral. Usually to eat, we had to depend on humanitarian aid, but we never knew when it would arrive. It was terrible; that is why many people used to run away from the communal village to their old residences where RENAMO soldiers were, although it was also terrible there.
Rape also became a widespread practice of FRELIMO soldiers. However, it was far less frequent and lacked the systematic nature of sexual violence perpetrated by RENAMO. As part of a series of measures following independence, FRELIMO introduced "re-education camps" to which petty criminals, political opponents, and alleged anti-social elements such as prostitutes were sent, oftentimes without trial due to a lack of judges. In 1980, President Machel visited numerous camps and ordered the release of about 2,000 detainees and closure of numerous camps, citing human rights abuses. These were later described by foreign observers as "infamous centers of torture and death." It is estimated that 30,000 inmates died in these camps. The government was also accused of executing thousands of people while trying to extend its control throughout the country.


Aftermath


Transition to peace

In 1990, with the Cold War in its closing days, apartheid crumbling in South Africa, and support for RENAMO drying up in South Africa, the first direct talks between the FRELIMO government and RENAMO were held. FRELIMO's new draft constitution in July 1989 paved the way for a multiparty system, and a new constitution was adopted in November 1990. Mozambique was now a multiparty state, with periodic elections, and guaranteed democratic rights. On 4 October 1992, the
Rome General Peace Accords The Rome General Peace Accords, officially the General Peace Accords (), was a peace treaty signed between the government of Mozambique and RENAMO, ending the Mozambican Civil War on October 4, 1992. Negotiations preceding the agreement began in ...
, negotiated by the
Community of Sant'Egidio The Community of Sant'Egidio ( it, Comunità di Sant'Egidio) is a lay Catholic association dedicated to social service, founded in 1968 under the leadership of Andrea Riccardi. The group grew and in 1973 was given a home at the former Carmelite ...
with the support of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, were signed in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
between President Chissano and RENAMO leader Afonso Dhlakama, which formally took effect on 15 October 1992. A UN peacekeeping force ( UNOMOZ) of 7,500 arrived in Mozambique and oversaw a two-year transition to democracy. 2,400 international observers also entered the country to supervise the elections held on 27–28 October 1994. The last UNOMOZ contingents departed in early 1995. By then out of a total population of 13-15 million at the time, the Mozambican civil war had caused about one million deaths, displaced 5.7 million internally and resulted with 1.7 million refugees.
State of the World's Refugees, 2000
' United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees


Landmines

HALO Trust The HALO Trust (Hazardous Area Life-support Organization) is a non-political and non-religious registered British charity and American non-profit organization which removes debris left behind by war, in particular land mines. With over 10,000 staf ...
, a de-mining group funded by the US and UK, began operating in Mozambique in 1993, recruiting local workers to remove land mines scattered throughout the country. Four HALO workers were killed in the subsequent effort to rid Mozambique of land mines, which continued to cause as many as several hundred civilian injuries and fatalities annually for years after the war. In September 2015, the country was finally declared to be free of land mines, with the last known device intentionally detonated as part of a ceremony.


Resurgence of violence since 2013

In mid-2013, after more than twenty years of peace, the RENAMO insurgency was renewed, mainly in the central and northern regions of the country. On 5 September 2014, former president
Armando Guebuza Armando Emílio Guebuza (born 20 January 1943) is a Mozambican politician who was the third President of Mozambique from 2005 to 2015. Career Guebuza, born at Murrupula in Nampula Province, joined the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) at t ...
and the leader of RENAMO Afonso Dhlakama signed the Accord on Cessation of Hostilities, which brought the military hostilities to a halt and allowed both parties to concentrate on the general elections to be held in October 2014. Yet, following the general elections, a new political crisis emerged and the country appears to be once again on the brink of violent conflict. RENAMO does not recognise the validity of the election results, and demands the control of six provinces – Nampula, Niassa, Tete, Zambezia, Sofala, and Manica – where they claim to have won a majority. On 20 January 2016, the Secretary General of RENAMO, Manuel Bissopo, was injured in a shootout, where his bodyguard died. However, a joint commission for the political dialogue between the President of the Republic,
Filipe Nyusi Filipe Jacinto Nyusi (; born 12 February 1959) is a Mozambican politician serving as the fourth President of Mozambique since 2015. He is the current leader of FRELIMO, the party that has governed Mozambique since its independence from Portug ...
, and RENAMO leader, Afonso Dhlakama, was eventually set up and a working meeting was held. It was a closed-door meeting that scheduled the beginning of the previous points that would precede the meeting between the two leaders.


References


Bibliography

* Abrahamsson, Hans and Nielsson, Anders, ''Mozambique: The Troubled Transition'' (London: Zed Books, 1995). *Andersson, Hilary, ''A War against the People'' (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 1992). * * *Cahen, Michel
"Dhlakama E Maningue Nice!": An Atypical Former Guerrilla in the Mozambican Electoral Campaign
Transformation, No. 35, 1998, p. 1-48. * *Gersony, Robert, ''Report of Mozambican Refugee Accounts of Principally Conflict-Related Experience in Mozambique'', U.S. Department of State, 1988. *Igreja, Victor, The Monkey's Sworn Oath. Cultures of Engagement for Reconciliation and Healing in the Aftermath of the Civil War in Mozambique, Leiden: PhD Thesis, 2007 (online at: https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/12089) *Juergensen, Olaf Tataryn. 1994.
Angonia: Why RENAMO?
'. Southern Africa Report Archive *Lohman, Major Charles M.; MacPherson, Major Robert I. (7 June 1983). "Rhodesia: Tactical Victory, Strategic Defeat" (pdf). War since 1945 Seminar and Symposium (Quantico, Virginia: Marine Corps Command and Staff College). Retrieved 19 October 2011. *Lulat, Y. G.-M., ''United States Relations with South Africa: A Critical Overview from the Colonial Period to the Present'' (New York: Peter Lang, 2008). * Morier-Genoud, Eric, Cahen, Michel and do Rosário, Domingos M. (eds), ''The War Within New Perspectives on the Civil War in Mozambique, 1976-1992'' (Oxford: James Currey, 2018) * *Young, Lance S., ''Mozambique's Sixteen-Year Bloody Civil War''. United States Air Force, 1991 *Fauvet, Paul, "Carlos Cardoso: Telling The Truth in Mozambique", Double Storey Books 2003 *Weigert, Stephen L., ''Traditional Religion and Guerrilla Warfare in Modern Africa'' (New York: St Martin's Press, 1996).


External links


Text of all peace accords for Mozambique

Mozambique-US Relations during Cold War
from th
Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
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