Civil war in mozambique

After World War II , the irreversible collapse of the European colonial empires began. However, the Portuguese colonies, in particular Mozambique , Portugal considered as an integral part of the state, and sought to retain them at all costs. In 1964, the country began an armed struggle against the Portuguese colonialists. The national liberation party FRELIMO, founded abroad, waged a guerrilla war and, by the time the country gained independence, controlled a significant part of the country's territory.

On April 25, 1974, the dictatorial regime in Portugal was overthrown . The “leftists” who came to power in Portugal granted the colonies independence, but the political process of formalizing this decision was marked by big flaws, which resulted in the introduction of one-party political systems in all three African colonies. In Mozambique, the leading party was FRELIMO, led by Zamora Machel . A course was taken to build socialism and cooperation with the USSR and the PRC . A one-party system was established , the SNASP state security service launched massive political repressions (among the victims were former prominent figures FRELIMO, including the first vice-chairman of the Front, Uria Simango ).

FRELIMO had many opponents, the largest center of attraction of which was the Mozambique National Resistance (MNF, better known for its Portuguese-speaking acronym RENAMO), which led a guerrilla struggle against the government in the northern and central provinces of the country and was supported first by Rhodesia, and then South Africa . The first leader of RENAMO was Andre Matsangaissa . After the death of Matsangaissa in battle in 1979, he was replaced by Afonso Dlakama . Until 1983, RENAMO's political strategy was determined by Orlanda Cristina (killed in Pretoria under unclear circumstances), until 1988 by Evo Fernandes (killed in Lisbon , presumably as a result of the SNASP special operation).

The beginning of the civil war is considered the first attack of RENAMO on May 30, 1977 . RENAMO’s strategy mainly boiled down to sabotage with a tendency to maximize economic damage. Until 1980, RENAMO strongholds were located in Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe), and the territory of Malawi was also used at certain stages. After the indigenous authorities were established in Zimbabwe , that country's president, Robert Mugabe, supported the Mozambique government’s struggle against RENAMO, which has since been tutored by South African foreign intelligence. FRELIMO military assistance was provided by contingents of Tanzania , Zimbabwe and Malawi in the late 1980s. In most operations in the second half of the 1980s, the Zimbabwean army played a major role. In 1984, South Africa formally refused to support RENAMO in exchange for the withdrawal from Mozambique of the bases of the African National Congress and trade preferences ("Nkomati agreement"), but tacitly continued it. On October 19, 1986, the President of Mozambique, Zamora Machel , died in a plane crash, whose plane may have been sent to a false beacon installed by the country's special services, but the official commission investigating the crash concluded that the pilots had made a mistake.

After the death of Machel, the country was led by Joaquim Chissano , who began the liberalization of public life and negotiations with the opposition. FRELIMO played a prominent role in this process by General Jacinto Veloso , who in the early years of Mozambique’s independence led the repressive SNASP service. Given the changing political picture of the region and the refusal of the new South African authorities to support RENAMO, in 1992 a final peace agreement was concluded. RENAMO has become a legal right-wing political party. However, with periodic aggravation of the political situation in Mozambique, armed clashes resume.

• Project: History / Lists / List of wars of the XX century

• Civil war in mozambique
• Photos of a Soviet officer participating in the war