Mozambican Civil War

== Course of the war ==
{{Main|Timeline of the Mozambican Civil War}}

=== Outbreak ===

From 1975 to 1979, Rhodesian troops and forces repeatedly entered into Mozambique in order to carry out [[Rhodesian Bush War|operations against supposed ZANLA (Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army) bases]] tolerated on Mozambican territory by the FRELIMO government<ref>Lohman&MacPherson 1983, Chapter 4.</ref> 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.<ref>J. A. Kalley, E. Schoeman and L. E. Andoret, "Southern African Political History: A chronology of key political events from Independence to mid-1997" Greenwood, 1999</ref>
 
During one such raid, Rhodesian forces freed FRELIMO ex-official [[André Matsangaissa]] 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]], head of the Rhodesian CIO, and Orlando Cristina, a former anti-guerrilla operative for the Portuguese.<ref>Andersson 2016, p.52</ref><ref>Abrahamsson & Nilsson 1995, p.246</ref><ref>Lulat 2008, p.272</ref><ref>Weigert 1995, p.73</ref><ref name="autogenerated1"/>

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.{{sfnp|Emerson|2014|pp=74–110}} RENAMO's ranks included a number of Mozambican political exiles opposed FRELIMO on principle, including FRELIMO defectors disillusioned with its Marxist–Leninist ideology.<ref name="HRW">{{cite book|last=Watch|first=Human Rights|title=Conspicuous destruction: war, famine and the reform process in Mozambique|year=1992|publisher=Human Rights Watch|location=New York u.a.|isbn=978-1-56432-079-7|pages=86–88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1PkGpxJaAIIC&q=Teodato+Hunguana&pg=PA174}}</ref>

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]] became the new leader of RENAMO and with extensive South African support it quickly organised itself into an effective guerilla army.<ref>Igreja 2007 p.128ff</ref>

Other rebel groups, initially  independent of RENAMO, also fought the FRELIMO government. The [[Revolutionary Party of Mozambique]] (PRM), founded by Amos Sumane in 1974 or 1976, waged a low-level insurgency in the northern provinces of [[Zambezia Province|Zambezia]], [[Tete Province|Tete]] and [[Niassa Province|Niassa]] from 1977.<ref>{{cite book |last= Weigert |first= Stephen L. |title= Traditional Religion and Guerrilla Warfare in Modern Africa |page=69 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0S6DDAAAQBAJ |date= 1996 |publisher= Palgrave Macmillan |location= London |isbn= 978-0-333-63798-2 }}</ref>{{sfnp|Banks|Muller|1998|p=635}} Sumane was captured in 1980 and executed by the Mozambican government in 1981. PRM merged with RENAMO in 1982.{{sfnp|Cabrita|2000|pp=129, 202}} 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.{{sfnp|Emerson|2014|p=163}}

=== RENAMO strategies and operations ===
[[File:Afonso Dhlakama, 1993 in Maringue.jpg|thumb|[[Afonso Dhlakama]] (center), leader of [[RENAMO]] from 1979 ]]

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newhistories.group.shef.ac.uk/wordpress/wordpress/?p=2867 |title=RENAMO and the LRA: The History and Futures of African Child Soldiers &#124; New Histories |access-date=2015-02-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235024/http://newhistories.group.shef.ac.uk/wordpress/wordpress/?p=2867 |archive-date=30 December 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref>Igreja 2007, p.153f.</ref> RENAMO's stated goal was to free Mozambique from "Machelist Communism".<ref>"Mozambique Dissidents' Military Communiqué" Summary of World Broadcasts, 15 July 1980</ref> 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.<ref name=Alden>{{cite book|last=Alden|first=Christopher|title=Mozambique and the Construction of the New African State: From Negotiations to Nation Building|date=2001|pages=15–31|publisher=Palgrave|location=Basingstoke |isbn=0-312-23594-1}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/mozambique/key-actors.php |title=Mozambique: Key Actors in the War and Peace Process |access-date=2012-03-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229195859/http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/mozambique/key-actors.php |archive-date=29 December 2011}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref name="autogenerated3">{{cite web |url=http://ccrweb.ccr.uct.ac.za/archive/defencedigest/defdigest03.html#1 |title=Defence Digest - Working Paper 3 |publisher=Ccrweb.ccr.uct.ac.za |access-date=4 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205234951/http://ccrweb.ccr.uct.ac.za/archive/defencedigest/defdigest03.html#1 |archive-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> 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]].

=== 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.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

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.<ref name="autogenerated3"/> Thus RENAMO had to give up its base camps in the Gorongosa area. [[Tanzania]] also sent troops to back FRELIMO. [[North Korea]], the [[German Democratic Republic]] and the [[Soviet Union]] also armed and trained FRELIMO forces, with the North Koreans establishing a Military Mission in Mozambique during the early 1980s<ref name=DPRK>{{cite book|last=Bermudez|first=Joseph|title=Terrorism, the North Korean connection|date=1997|page=124|publisher=Crane, Russak & Company|location=New York|isbn=978-0844816104}}</ref> North Korean advisers were instrumental in the formation of FRELIMO's first specialized counter-insurgency brigade, which was deployed from 1983 onward.<ref name=DPRK/> East Germany provided military assistance and trained members of the Mozambican [[FPLM]] in the GDR.<ref>Klaus Storkmann, "Fighting the Cold War in southern Africa? East German military support to FRELIMO" [[Portuguese Journal of Social Science]], 2010</ref> In the spring of 1977, the [[Army of the Socialist Republic of Romania|Romanian Socialist Army]] sent 500 soldiers and officers to Mozambique. The Romanians were deployed to [[Maputo]] and [[Nacala]]. Specialized in operating tanks, these Romanian troops - under the supervision of some Soviet officers - trained Mozambican tank troops in the use of [[T-34]] and [[T-54]] tanks.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">[https://books.google.com/books?id=lRAmAAAAMAAJ&q=T-34 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. International Security Studies Program, Ballinger Publishing Company, 1988, ''Superpower Competition and Security in the Third World'', p. 100]</ref>

Malawi had a complicated relationship with both FRELIMO and RENAMO.<ref name=Arnold/> During the mid-1980s, FRELIMO repeatedly accused Malawian president [[Hastings Banda]] of providing sanctuary for RENAMO insurgents.<ref name=Arnold/> 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]].<ref name=Arnold/> In 1986, Malawi bowed to Mozambican pressure and expelled 12,000 RENAMO insurgents.<ref name=Arnold/> 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]] coast.<ref name=Arnold/> 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.<ref name=Arnold/>

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]] 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]]. In return, [[Pretoria]] 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.<ref name="ReferenceB">Joseph Hanlon, "Beggar Your Neighbours: Apartheid Power in Southern Africa, 1986</ref> 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]] that Mozambique was "moving straight and naively into the mouth of the evil capitalist wolf".<ref name="ReferenceC">Paul Fauvet, "Carlos Cardoso: Telling the Truth in Mozambique" Double Storey Books, 2003</ref> 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.<ref name="ReferenceC"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/>

The United States was non-involved in the conflict.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zubovich |first=Gene |date=2023 |title=The U.S. Culture Wars Abroad: Liberal-Evangelical Rivalry and Decolonization in Southern Africa, 1968–1994 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jaad261 |journal=Journal of American History |volume=110 |issue=2 |pages=308–332 |doi=10.1093/jahist/jaad261 |issn=0021-8723 |quote=The U.S. government largely stayed out of Mozambique's struggle for independence from 1962 to 1975 and its civil war from 1976 to 1992...  the State Department remained neutral in these conflicts}}</ref>

=== 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 [[1986 Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 crash|crashed]] 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 Chissano|Joaquim Alberto Chissano]], 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.<ref name="Zinsmeister, Karl 1988 p. 88, 28">Zinsmeister, Karl. "All the Hungry People." REASON 20 (June 1988): 22-30. p. 88, 28</ref><ref name="Andersson, Hilary 1992. p. 64, 92">Andersson, Hilary. MOZAMBIQUE: A WAR AGAINST THE PEOPLE. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. p. 64, 92</ref><ref>THE FACTS ON FILE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE 20TH CENTURY. New York: Facts on File, 1991. p. 91, 640</ref> The famine was attributable to the weather conditions at the time but was significantly worsened by the conflict between RENAMO and FRELIMO.<ref name="Zinsmeister, Karl 1988 p. 88, 28"/><ref name="Andersson, Hilary 1992. p. 64, 92"/>