Renamo Guerrillas by Peter Strandberg

Date: 28 November, 1987

On 28 November 1987 more than 60 people were killed and scores were left wounded when an army escorted civilian convoy was attacked by guerrillas from the Mozambique National Resistance Movement (RENAMO). The ambush happened on a Saturday on the main road, 32 kilometres from the Mozambique capital Maputo. According to reports by survivor, Salvador Manuel, rebels attacked the convoy along its length, firing from both sides of the road.

Two events of the same nature, before this one, happened on the same road where 330 people lost their lives just 50 miles north of Maputo. Four rebels were killed during the exchange of gun fire between soldiers and rebels. The Mozambican government blamed both these events on the South African who were accused of supporting the rebels. These claims were rejected by South African government.

The attack of 1987 happened almost a year after Mozambican President Samora Machel’s death. Three years before this attack, President Michel signed the Nkomati Accord of 1984 with South Africa, which pledged to end Mozambican support for the African National Congress(ANC) in return for an end to South African support for RENAMO.

References

• United Press International (1987). ‘63 Slain as Guerrillas Attack Civilian Convoy in Mozambique’from Los Angeles Times [online] Available at www.latimes.com[Accessed 26 October 2011]
• Start.umd.edu (2011). ‘Mozambique National Resistance Movement’from National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism [online] Available at www.start.umd.edu[Accessed 26 October 2011]
• c-r.org (2011). ‘The Nkomati Talks’ from Conciliation Resources [online] Available at www.c-r.org/[Accessed 02 November 2011]