International Raids will continue, says Rhodesia after Mozambique attack

Press, 1 June 1977, Page 8

International Raids will continue, says Rhodesia after Mozambique attack

NZPA-Reuter Salisbury A Rhodesian Government spokesman has said in Salisbury that strikes against nationalist guerrilla bases inside neighbouring Mozambique “will continue if they are in Rhodesia’s interests.”

I The spokesman was comjmenting on the raids on [Sunday in which about 41 guerrillas were said to have been killed. The raids, he said, were part of the “hot pursuit” policy the country had adopted since the start of the war more than four years ago.

“The purpose of hot pursuit is to track down terrorists operating in Rhodesia who seek sanctuary externally.” he said.

At least three guerrilla bases were over-run and destroyed in the raids, according to official reports. No details of the Rhodesian units employed in the raids have been released, but it is believed that elite units such as the Selous Scouts and the

[Special Air Service Squadron have spearheaded the raids.

A Government spokesman has categorically denied official Mozambique reports that three Rhodesian strike aircraft providing air cover fcr ground troops had been shot down inside the territory. He said that the Rhodesian forces suffered no losses.

The approval for the raids was understood to have been given by the War Council headed by the Prime Minister (<«• lan Smith). Details of the attacks were handled by the Combined Operations Ministry and the Commander of Combined Operations, (General Peter Walls). Government sources in Salisbury defend the raids on the grounds that Rhodesia

could not “sit back and do nothing” in the face of increasing guerrilla infiltration across the south-eastern border with Mozambique. Dense bush lines the border and makes tracking guerrillas difficult. Defence spokesmen admit that the rugged country along the border provides insurgents with comparatively easy access to Rhodesia. The centre of Rhodesian operations in Mozambique has been the village of Mapai, about 75krn (47 miles) from the border and a few miles south of the rail line to the Mozambique capital of Maputo. According to Rhodesian official sources, Mapai is a major supply centre and staging post for guerrillas bound for Rhodesia across the south-eastern border.