| The Russians in Mozambique |
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The Russians and Chinese have a keen interest in Africa. The Russians were more active here than anyone
else. More than 75% of all weaponry in Africa, comes directly from Russia. Russia is a big player (behind the
scenes), to this day. When Robert Mugabe felt threatened in 2000, he ordered 21,000 AK47's directly from
Russia. They were flown in immediately on a Russian cargo plane. Then he placed an order for $73 million worth
of arms from China. He ordered anti-personnel weapons, including grenade launchers and even tanks. This is a
very large order for an African country. Captured Russian weapons in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe  Soviet supplied 23mm Ack Ack gun captured by Rhodesian forces from Mugabe's forces in Mozambique  Soviet supplied 7.62 Dragonov sniper rifles captured by Rhodesian forces from Mugabe's forces in Mozambique  Soviet supplied 12.7mm heavy machine gun. Note these devastated trenches in one of Mugabe's bases in Mozambique after a Rhodesian raid. Most warfare in southern Africa was guerilla warfare. However, the Marxist Liberators had properly planned and defended bases in neighbouring countries. Their defences were often designed by Russian officers. Sometimes Russian documents were found in these camps. Captured prisoners would testify to the presence of Russian Army officers who would come to inspect the camps from time to time. Often the Rhodesian Army captured hundreds and even thousands of tons of weaponry on raids, but there was so much that they could only bring back a small portion with them. The rest was blown up. |