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Raid on Gaborone
The Raid on Gaborone (referred to as "Operation Plecksy" by the then South African Defence Force) took place on 14 June 1985 when South African Defence Force troops, under the order of General Constand Viljoen, crossed into Botswana violating International Law and attacked South African émigrés living in exile in Gaborone. The raid, the fifth South African attack on a neighbouring country since 1981, killed 12 people including women and children; only five of the victims were actual members of the African National Congress (ANC), at the time the main opposition group against the National Party white supremacist minority regime.
In the 1980s, relations between Botswana and South Africa were strained. Anti-apartheid organisations such as the African National Congress used Botswana and other countries in Southern Africa as refuge. Despite Botswana's non-alignment policy, the South African Defence Force as the military force of the apartheid government conducted several cross-border raids to attack South African anti-apartheid activists and émigrés in exile.
The South African National Intelligence Service, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Defence, and the police all favored a raid.
The following locations in the Gaborone area were targeted by the South African forces:
At about 1:40 am on 14 June, approximately 50 South African soldiers entered Botswana near the Tlokweng border outpost, not far from Bophuthatswana. Unconfirmed journalistic reports suggested that the party deployed from Zeerust. According to Manuel Olifant, a former policeman involved in the raid, the SADF readied around 50 tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets in Zeerust for use if Botswana retaliated, but they were not used. To lead the attack, the SADF employed former operatives of the Selous Scouts, a special regiment of the Rhodesian Security Forces. The South Africans drove nine miles to their targets in Gaborone in 18 vans with falsified Botswanan government license plates. To prevent retaliation from the BDF, the raiding party cut telephone lines to the local barracks and spread metal tacks on roads to flatten tires of pursuing vehicles.
The South African apartheid government forces completely destroyed four residences and severely damaged another four and seized documents, arms, and a computer. They did not engage BDF forces; they convinced the Botswanan security personnel they encountered during the raid to refrain from intervening. Once they had completed their objectives, the South Africans linked up and returned to South Africa, avoiding BDF roadblocks and establishing their own block at the border. South African officials claimed that a car with ANC guerrillas followed their party and opened fire on them, leading them to destroy the vehicle.
The attackers killed 12 people and injured six. One South African soldier received minor injuries. Witnesses say that civilians were killed despite what SADF reports said at the time.
A list of the victims follows:
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Raid on Gaborone
The Raid on Gaborone (referred to as "Operation Plecksy" by the then South African Defence Force) took place on 14 June 1985 when South African Defence Force troops, under the order of General Constand Viljoen, crossed into Botswana violating International Law and attacked South African émigrés living in exile in Gaborone. The raid, the fifth South African attack on a neighbouring country since 1981, killed 12 people including women and children; only five of the victims were actual members of the African National Congress (ANC), at the time the main opposition group against the National Party white supremacist minority regime.
In the 1980s, relations between Botswana and South Africa were strained. Anti-apartheid organisations such as the African National Congress used Botswana and other countries in Southern Africa as refuge. Despite Botswana's non-alignment policy, the South African Defence Force as the military force of the apartheid government conducted several cross-border raids to attack South African anti-apartheid activists and émigrés in exile.
The South African National Intelligence Service, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Defence, and the police all favored a raid.
The following locations in the Gaborone area were targeted by the South African forces:
At about 1:40 am on 14 June, approximately 50 South African soldiers entered Botswana near the Tlokweng border outpost, not far from Bophuthatswana. Unconfirmed journalistic reports suggested that the party deployed from Zeerust. According to Manuel Olifant, a former policeman involved in the raid, the SADF readied around 50 tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets in Zeerust for use if Botswana retaliated, but they were not used. To lead the attack, the SADF employed former operatives of the Selous Scouts, a special regiment of the Rhodesian Security Forces. The South Africans drove nine miles to their targets in Gaborone in 18 vans with falsified Botswanan government license plates. To prevent retaliation from the BDF, the raiding party cut telephone lines to the local barracks and spread metal tacks on roads to flatten tires of pursuing vehicles.
The South African apartheid government forces completely destroyed four residences and severely damaged another four and seized documents, arms, and a computer. They did not engage BDF forces; they convinced the Botswanan security personnel they encountered during the raid to refrain from intervening. Once they had completed their objectives, the South Africans linked up and returned to South Africa, avoiding BDF roadblocks and establishing their own block at the border. South African officials claimed that a car with ANC guerrillas followed their party and opened fire on them, leading them to destroy the vehicle.
The attackers killed 12 people and injured six. One South African soldier received minor injuries. Witnesses say that civilians were killed despite what SADF reports said at the time.
A list of the victims follows: