Operation Eland

ZANLA Base at Nyadzonya
Operation Eland
	Part of the Rhodesian Bush War
	Nyadzonya Operation Eland (Mozambique)
Date	9 August 1976
Location	Nyadzonya, People's Republic of Mozambique18°31′57″S 33°23′18″E / 18.5326°S 33.3883°E
Belligerents
Rhodesia	ZANLA (ZANU) FRELIMO
Commanders and leaders
Ron Reid-Daly; Rob Warraker; Morrison Nyathi	Josiah Tongogara; Robert Mugabe; Edgar Tekere
Units involved
Rhodesian Army Selous Scouts;	ZANU guerillas
Strength
84 scouts; 4 Ferret armoured cars	5,000 ZANU troops (per Rhodesians); unarmed refugees (per Amnesty International and ZANLA)
Casualties and losses
None	1,000+ killed (possibly civilians)

Operation Eland, also known as the Nyadzonya^[a] Raid, was a military operation carried out by the Rhodesian Selous Scouts at Nyadzonya in Mozambique on 9 August 1976.^[2] 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.

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.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Moorcraft, Paul L.; McLaughlin, Peter (April 2008) [1982]. The Rhodesian War: A Military History. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-84415-694-8.
^ ^a ^b ^c Smith, Ian (1997). The Great Betrayal. London: Blake Publishing Ltd. pp. 195–196. ISBN 1-85782-176-9.
^ Peter J.H. Petter-Bowyer (13 August 2023). Winds of Destruction: The Autobiography of a Rhodesian Combat Pilot (2005 ed.). 30°. pp. 278–279. ISBN 978-0-9584890-3-4.

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[Moorcraft-1] Moorcraft, Paul L.; McLaughlin, Peter (April 2008) [1982]. The Rhodesian War: A Military History. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-84415-694-8.

[SmithGB-2] Smith, Ian (1997). The Great Betrayal. London: Blake Publishing Ltd. pp. 195–196. ISBN 1-85782-176-9.

[RAF-3] Peter J.H. Petter-Bowyer (13 August 2023). Winds of Destruction: The Autobiography of a Rhodesian Combat Pilot (2005 ed.). 30°. pp. 278–279. ISBN 978-0-9584890-3-4.

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