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 attack was one of many cross-border raids conducted by Rhodesia against Mozambique and was perpetrated in direct contravention to United Nations Security Council Resolution 386, passed unanimously in March 1976, which condemned Rhodesia's previous attacks on Mozambican territory. The Selous Scouts, wearing FRELIMO uniforms, infiltrated a camp run by FRELIMO and ZANU before opening fire. Impersonation of opposing forces is classified as a war crime according to the Geneva convention. In a 1993 report, Amnesty International described the raid as "gross human rights violation and a war crime." Roughly 1,000 people were killed of which the number of civilians is unknown. ZANU stated that they were overwhelmingly unarmed refugees while Rhodesia said they were guerillas or undergoing training. Following the attack, ZANU intensified its guerilla campaign, and FRELIMO increased its support for border infiltrations by ZANU into Rhodesia.

The raid had severe political and diplomatic consequences for Rhodesia. The United Nations Security Council condemned the attack with the unanimous passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 411. Many governments worldwide also condemned the attack, including the government of Apartheid South Africa which ended its covert military assistance to Rhodesia, reduced the supply of oil and munitions, and began to pressure the Rhodesian government to accept a transition to black majority rule. Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, publicly agreed (in principle) to this a little over month after Operation Eland, on 24 September 1976.