NEIGHBOURING STATES FACE ATTACKS
South Africa has carried out renewed attacks against independent Southern African states and has threatened further actions as a result of their increasingly strong stand against apartheid.
ANGOLA
On 9 August the South African 32 Battalion, a specialist unit consisting mainly of Angolan and other mercenaries, attacked Cuito Cuanavale, about 180 miles inside Angola. The town is an important base for Angolan operations against the South African-backed UNITA force which is active in the remote south east. (BBC/WA 13.8.86)
Repeated assaults were made on Cuito Cuanavale, using heavy artillery and armoured cars, but by 15 August the Angolan forces were firmly in control of the town and surrounding area. The Angolan news agency Angop stated that 95 South African troops had been killed in the fighting and six vehicles destroyed. Four South African soldiers were captured. The South African Defence Force (SADF) denied any knowledge of the fighting around Cuito Cuanavale, stating that the operations had been carried out by UNITA. (GN/WA 13.8.86; WA 15.8.86; 4.9.86)
The Angolan armed forces were also engaged in fighting against UNITA forces operating in areas to the north of Cuito Cuanavale. Hundreds of UNITA troops were reported to have been killed in August in Mexico province. An Angolan offensive against UNITA which began last year was halted after large scale South African bombing and the onset of the rainy season. UNITA has recently been supplied with military equipment from the United States, reported to include advanced Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and anti-tank weapons. (Angop 20.8.86; Star 23.8.86)
ZAMBIA
As Angolan forces have pushed UNITA towards the eastern border, UNITA activity has spread into Zambia. A number of Zambians have been killed or kidnapped by UNITA troops and constant cross-border raids have been reported. (S Star 14.9.86)
President Kaunda has accused South Africa of being behind the operations, which he said forms part of a wider South African campaign to 'paralyse' Zambia. A number of people have been arrested in Zambia on suspicion of spying for South Africa. Four of them confessed to have reconnoitered bridges and strategic installations for South African sabotage operations. (WM 29.8.85)
MOZAMBIQUE
MNR forces supplied by South Africa have continued to carry out destructive activities over wide areas of Mozambique, although the security situation has improved in some provinces. In July, the chief of staff of the Mozambican armed forces, General Sebastião Mabote, stated that overall MNR activity had diminished. (GN 5.7.86)
Addressing the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Harare in September, President Machel stated that South Africa was stepping up its supplies to the MNR in violation of the Nkomati security accord signed with Mozambique in 1984. During August, tons of arms and supplies were reported to have been delivered, and South African aircraft offloaded 'men and war materials' from landing strips established in the central province of Manica. According to the Mozambican authorities, this resupply operation was in preparation for intensified attacks on the Beira corridor. The oil pipeline from Zimbabwe to Beira was reportedly sabotaged on a number of occasions during August. (AIM 15.8.86; CT 25.8.86; Star 4.9.86)
President Machel has also stated that MNR ranks have been swollen by the recruitment of Mozambicans fleeing from MNR activities along the South African border. Thousands of Mozambicans have crossed into South Africa, where they have been settled in camps described by the Mozambique news agency, AIM, as 'centres of forced recruitment into the MNR'. (AIM 1.8.86)
OTHER COUNTRIES
Relations between Pretoria and all the independent countries of Southern Africa have become extremely tense as a result of the increasingly aggressive stance of the Botha regime, and continuing border violations. In July, following a warning by the Minister of External Affairs, Dr Gaositwe Chiepe, that a South African attack was 'imminent', the Botswana Defence Force was put on alert. Extensive road blocks and other security measures were introduced. (S Trib 20.7.86)
South African threats have also been made against Zimbabwe, especially since it has supported international sanctions against Pretoria.
Shortly after Zimbabwe voted in favour of sanctions measures at a meeting of Commonwealth leaders held in August, South African customs officials began systematic searches of trucks crossing the border into Zimbabwe, leading to delays. Similar delays were experienced by vehicles destined for Zambia, which also supports sanctions, and a cash deposit scheme was introduced for goods headed for Zambia. These were widely interpreted as intimidating moves by Pretoria, but the South African authorities declared that they had simply instituted a 'statistical survey'. (Star 7.8.86; T 27.8.86)
In Lesotho, a man reported to be a member of the ANC, Joseph MOTHOPENG, was shot dead in July after an attempt had been made to kidnap him. Another reported ANC member, Simon MAKETHA, was kidnapped a few days later by eight armed men and according to some reports was killed. A Lesotho medical technologist, Mpho MAKETE, reported to be an ANC supporter, and an unnamed woman companion were also shot and killed. (Star 29.7.86; S Trib 14.9.86)
On 26 June, Sidney MSIBI, an ANC refugee, was kidnapped from Manzini in Swaziland and taken to South Africa. Two weeks previously, two other ANC members were assassinated by what the ANC described as 'a South African death squad, using silenced weapons'. In August, a number of raids were carried out on Swaziland from South African territory. Sixteen armed men wearing balacavas attacked a remote police station where an ANC man, named in one report as Lephat SEDIBE, was being held by the Swazi police for questioning. The raiders tied up the police and removed Sedibe and two other men detained at the station. On previous occasions ANC members being held by the Swazi police have been kidnapped in raids by South African troops.
A second attack on Swaziland occurred when a group of ten heavily armed men crossed the border near Oshoek. They shot and wounded two Swazi nationals, burnt down two houses, and ransacked a residence and the offices of a refugee aid centre in the capital Mbabane. Files containing the names of South African refugees were stolen from the refugee organisation, and a bomb was reportedly found in the offices. The Swazi government reacted strongly, labelling the attack 'inhuman and barbaric'. (ANC Press Release 1.7.86; Star/CT/GN 20.8.86; WM 28.8.86)
IDAF
The International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa has the following objects (i) to aid, defend and rehabilitate the victims of unjust legislation and oppressive and arbitrary procedures; (ii) to support their families and dependants (iii) to keep the conscience of the world alive to the issues at stake.
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Sources and abbreviations: BBC — British Broadcasting Corporation Survey of World Broadcasts; Cit — The Citizen, Johannesburg; CP — City Press, Johannesburg; CT — Cape Times; DD — Daily Dispatch, East London; Debates — House of Assembly Debates, Cape Town; DN — Daily News, Durban; GG — Government Gazette, Pretoria; GN — Guardian, London; FM — Financial Mail, Johannesburg; FT — Financial Times, London; MS — Morning Star, London; Nam — Namibian, Windhoek; NCC — Namibian Communications Centre, London; Obs — Observer, London; RDM — Rand Daily Mail, Johannesburg; S — Sowetan; S Exp — Sunday Express, Johannesburg; S Trib — Sunday Tribune, Durban; Star — Star, Johannesburg; Tel — Daily Telegraph, London; T — Times, London; WA — Windhoek Advertiser, Namibia; WM — Weekly Mail, Johannesburg; WO — Windhoek Observer, Namibia.
