The 5th Brigade is an elite unit of the Zimbabwean army . It was created in 1981 from three former battalions of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army [1] . The brigade participated in the civil war in Mozambique [2] , as well as in the scandalous anti- protest operation known as Gukurahundi , which was directed against former partisans of the People's Revolutionary Army of Zimbabwe (ZIPRA) and their supporters, who were unhappy with the presidency of Robert Mugabe [3] .
| 5th brigade | |
|---|---|
| Years of existence | 1981 - 1988 / s 2006 |
| A country |  Zimbabwe |
| Included in | Zimbabwe Defense Forces |
| Type of | infantry brigade |
| Function | fight against armed uprisings |
| Number | 3,500 troops |
| Nickname | Gukurahundi |
| Equipment | predominantly Soviet |
| Participation in |
|
| Commanders | |
| Famous commanders | Colonel Perenche Siri |
Content
History
The division was created in 1981 . The First Commander of the Fifth Brigade was Colonel Perenche Siri. The unit had its own codes, uniforms, and equipment, different from the rest of the military units of the Zimbabwean army. Their main distinguishing feature was the red berets, although sometimes the soldiers of the 5th brigade acted in civilian clothes.
In the first stage of existence, the brigade was based in Gweru .
Since 1982, during the civil war in Mozambique , the unit has fought on the side of the FRELIMO government.
In January 1983, the 5th Brigade of the Zimbabwean Army went to Northern Matabeleland to suppress the rebellion. The rebellion was brutally suppressed. According to official figures, 429 people died, human rights activists claim that the death toll could reach 20 thousand [4] .
In 1988, the brigade was disbanded, but in 2006 a decision was made to reinstate the unit [5] .
On March 1, 2011 , against the backdrop of the conflict in Libya , the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported that a group of soldiers and mercenaries from Zimbabwe arrived in Tripoli , including an elite unit of the 5th brigade. The article spoke of several hundred Zimbabweans [6]
Military equipment
The brigade has at its disposal the T-54 and T-55 tanks , as well as the armored personnel carriers BRDM-2 and BTR-152 [1] .
Education and training
In October 1980, President Robert Mugabe signed an agreement with North Korean leader Kim Il Sung , according to which the DPRK pledged to conduct training for the personnel of the 5th brigade. To implement this agreement, in August 1981, 106 North Korean military advisers arrived in Zimbabwe . The training program for the Fifth Brigade fighters lasted until September 1982 [2] [1] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Zimbabwe, a Country Study. - Second. - Washington, DC: Department of the Army, American University, 1983. - P. 263–272.
- ↑ 1 2 Bermudez, Joseph. North Korean Special Forces. - Philadelphia: United States Naval Institute, 1998 .-- P. 144. - ISBN 978-1557500663 .
- ↑ Dzinesa, Gwinyayi. Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration in Southern Africa: Swords into Plowshares ?. - Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2017 .-- P. 45–48. - ISBN 978-3319605487 .
- ↑ Zimbabwe, his army and his president "- Vadim Treschev, November 27, 2017, Military Review
- ↑ http://www.zimbabwedefence.com/News_51_Gets_Comm.html , accessed March 2009
- ↑ Zakhar Radov A lot of Zimbabweans are fighting in Libya on the side of the government // Komsomolskaya Pravda , 03/01/2011