Beira fuel depot attack

Beira fuel depot attack
Beira is located in Mozambique
Beira
Beira
Beira (Mozambique)
Part of the Mozambican Civil War & Rhodesian Bush War
LocationBeira, District of Munhava, Mozambique
DateMarch 23, 1979
TargetBeira's Fuel Depot and Electrical Supply
Attack type
RPG and Machine Gun Attack
Deaths 18 FPLM soldiers killed
(RENAMO claim)[1]
1 RENAMO member killed[2]
Perpetrators Rhodesia
 South Africa[3]
RENAMO

The Beira fuel depot attack was a raid on the fuel depot in Beira's Munhava District on March 23, 1979, and was conducted by Rhodesian SAS forces who were assisted by South Africa's Four-Recce Commandos. The attack resulted in millions of dollars’ worth of damages to Beira's fuel tanks belonging to Mozambican and foreign companies as well as extra publicity for the RENAMO rebel group. Although RENAMO claimed responsibility and was credited for the attack by Rhodesia, the raid was an almost entirely Rhodesian and South African effort except for the presence of a single RENAMO representative on the mission.[3]

  1. ^ "We caused Beira fire" (PDF). Rand Daily Mail. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Destruction of the Fuel Depot in Beira". Henry Lepetit. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b Robinson (2006), p. 111.