A further extension of martial law to cover almost the whole of Rhodesia was announced by the regime on 3 September. A statement issued on 4 September by Combined Operations headquarters declared that it was the "publicly stated intention of the Patriotic Front" to escalate the guerilla war during the forthcoming constitutional conference at Lancaster House, London, and "to counter this several additional martial law areas are gazetted today. Their purpose is to consolidate existing areas and to bring about a rationalization of district boundaries."
The new martial law areas are believed to take in a thin strip of territory running south-west from Salisbury as far as Bulawayo, straddling the main road connecting the two cities. As a result of six separate extensions of martial law, on 23 September 1978, 4 and 31 October, 10 and 24 November 1978, and 12 January 1979, over 90% of the country has been under martial law since early this year
