Operation Eland
Operation Eland, also known as the Nyadzonya Raid, was a military operation carried out by the Rhodesian Selous Scouts at Nyadzonya in Mozambique on 9 August 1976. The Rhodesians initially claimed that 300 ZANLA and 30 FAM (Armed Forces of Mozambique) soldiers were killed, but later claimed that documentation captured after the event suggested that more than 1,028 were killed. ZANLA and Amnesty International claimed that the people killed were unarmed refugees.
| Operation Eland | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Rhodesian Bush War | |||||
Nyadzonya Operation Eland (Mozambique) | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
| Rhodesia |
ZANLA (ZANU) FRELIMO | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
|
Ron Reid-Daly Rob Warraker Morrison Nyathi |
Josiah Tongogara Robert Mugabe Edgar Tekere | ||||
| Units involved | |||||
| ZANU guerillas | |||||
| Strength | |||||
|
84 scouts 4 Ferret armoured cars | 5,000 ZANU troops (per Rhodesians) | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| None | 1,000+ killed | ||||
The raid had adverse political and diplomatic consequences for Rhodesia. In response to the attack, the South African government ended its covert military assistance for Rhodesia, reduced the supply of oil and munitions, and began to pressure the Rhodesian government to accept a transition to black majority rule. The Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, agreed (in principle) to this, in September 1976.