Nkomo’s army drifts home

Press, 10 April 1980, Page 8

Nkomo’s army drifts home

NZPA-Reuter Salisbury Almost 2500 of Mr Joshua Nkomo’s Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army guerrillas have returned to Zimbabwe from their' bases) in Zambia in the last week, according to diplomatic sources in Salisbury. The guerrillas returned to their homeland over the Victoria Falls bridge and were believed to have been armed. They are being housed at a former; refugee camp on the Gwaai River in western Zimbabwe, according to the sources. Between 6000 and 8000 Zipra guerrillas remained in Zambia after the December 28 cease-fire in Rhodesia’s seven-year bush war. Some 6000 more of them inside the country reported to the

Commonwealth - monitored cease-fire assembly points. The repatriation of the Zambian-based guerrillas sparked a controversy with Mr Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army, whose commanders did not want their Zipra allies to return armed, the sources said, Zipra and Z.A.N.L.A. fought the bush war as loose allies. After the ceasefire. some 16,000 Z.A.N.L.A. men reported to assembly places, and a further 7000, apparently ignoring the cease-fire term, remained at large in the bush, according to nationalist sources. These 7000 have now reported to the assembly points, since Mr Mugabe’s sweeping victory in the February 27-29 elections.