Aftermath
Following independence, Robert Mugabe acted incrementally to consolidate his power.
Fighting between ZANLA and ZIPRA units broke out in 1981 and led to what has become known as Gukurahundi, a Shona term which translates roughly to mean "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains". The Gukurahundi campaigns, which are also called the Matabeleland Massacres, ran from 1982 to 1985. Mugabe used his North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade to crush any resistance in Matabeleland. German journalist Shari Eppel estimates the number of Matabele murdered in these first years after the war to be about 20,000.
Beyond Zimbabwe's borders, as a result of Rhodesian aid and support for RENAMO, the Bush War also helped influence the outbreak of the Mozambique Civil War, which lasted from 1977 until 1992. That conflict claimed over a million lives, and also led to some 5 million people being made homeless.
Read more about this topic: Rhodesian Bush War
Famous quotes containing the word aftermath:
“The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)