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The Conflict with Renamo, 1976-1992
«August 1989»
Dossier MZ-0020
114. "We warned Kaunda... but he turned a deaf ear"
Above: Local villagers in Gile, in the northern part of Zambézia province, which was under Renamo occupation for two years, 1986-1988, building an improvised footbridge across a river. Photo: Kok Nam.
Mimeographed RENAMO propaganda leaflets distributed in Zambia's border zones stated in English that "we promise to intensify our attacks inside your country if you do not withdraw from Mozambique." The text also stated that RENAMO warned Kaunda but he did not listen.
The Mozambican army claimed in a statement that in a joint Mozambican-Zimbabwean operation in July, the RENAMO headquarters at Maringue in the north of Sofala province had been captured. Nationwide, 593 "armed bandits" were killed and another 46 captured.
A minor scandal broke in the United States when it emerged that the Commissionar in the Reagan administration's Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had used his position to raise funds for a South Africa-based charity, Food for Africa, with strong links to RENAMO. His activities were considered to have possibly violated conflict of interest rules. The Commissioner, Thomas Demery, was known to have had telephone conversations with the RENAMO representative in Washington DC.
Click on the yellow folder image below to download an unsorted zipped archive of documents and press clippings in PDF format concerning the conflict between the Mozambican government and the MNR/Renamo in August 1989.
