On 19 May the South African Defence Force (SADF) carried out air and ground attacks on Mogaditsane in Botswana, Harare in Zimbabwe and Makeni near the Zambian capital Lusaka. The operations took place at a time when the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group was in South Africa investigating whether there was a possibility of ending apartheid without imposing economic sanctions. After the raids, P W Botha indicated that they were merely 'the first instalment' and that the regime was prepared to carry out further attacks. (Star 19.5.86; BBC 23.5.86)
The attack on Botswana - which took place only days before scheduled talks between the Botswana government and Pretoria on security issues - was carried out by a force of helicopter-borne troops. South African Air Force helicopters attacked a Botswana Defence Force (BDF) barracks at the same time as a ground force, which had been landed by helicopter, stormed a nearby complex used as a footballers' training centre. The helicopters were driven off by BDF anti-aircraft fire, but at least one member of the BDF was injured and a Botswana civilian, an employee of the Ministry of Agriculture, was killed. (BBC 20/21.5.86)
President Quett Masire noted that the attack on the BDF barracks made it clear that the SADF was 'bent on provoking a response' despite the fact that leaflets were dropped from the helicopters claiming that the attackers regarded 'the people of Botswana as our friends and neighbours'. In June last year the SADF carried out a similar attack in Botswana, killing twelve civilians. (BBC 20/22.5.86)
In Harare an empty house previously occupied by the ANC representative in Zimbabwe was attacked and blown up. The ANC office in the centre of town, which was also empty at the time, was bombed. The operation was apparently carried out by a South African team which had earlier entered the country disguised as tourists. The attackers escaped by driving to a private airstrip about fifty miles from Harare where they were picked up by an aircraft. (Obs 25.5.86)
The government-owned news agency, ZIANA, noted that while the attack was the first on Zimbabwe ever admitted by the South African government, a number of previous sabotage and assassination operations had been blamed on Pretoria. (BBC 21.5.86)
Some hours after the attacks on Botswana and Zimbabwe, two South African jets attacked Makeni Plots, a refugee settlement outside Lusaka administered by the UN High Commission for Refugees. Two cars painted in the colours of the Zambian police appeared at the settlement just before the aircraft arrived, firing at random. The jets bombed a cluster of buildings housing refugees, killing one person reported to be a Namibian and wounding ten. Buildings nearby which used to house a library used by the ANC were untouched in the attack. (BBC 21.5.86; Obs/ST 25.5.86)
The governments of Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe reacted angrily to the attacks. President Quett Masire of Botswana called the operation 'a naked act of aggression'. President Mugabe referred to South African 'state terrorism' and called for the strengthening of his country's defences and increased support for the ANC. President Kaunda described the attack as 'criminal and unforgivable' and stated that P W Botha had 'sent a message to the whole world that he is not ready for talks'. An emergency meeting of the Front Line States grouping, of which all three countries are members, strongly condemned the raids and demanded the imposition of mandatory economic sanctions against Pretoria. (MS 20.5.86; BBC/GN 21.5.86)
International condemnation was also strong. The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Shridath Ramphal, stated that the apartheid regime had 'declared war on peace' and had deliberately sabotaged the Eminent Persons Group initiative. He made it clear that the imposition of sanctions against Pretoria - which the Commonwealth initiative was attempting to avert - was the appropriate response. (FT 20.5.86)
