| Salisbury Woolworths bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Rhodesian Bush War | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 17°50′9.3″S 31°2′26.8″E / 17.835917°S 31.040778°E |
| Date | 6 August 1977 Shortly before 12:00 (Central Africa Time) |
Attack type | Bombing |
| Deaths | 11 |
| Injured | 76 |
| Perpetrators | Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA)[1][2][3] |
| Defenders | British South Africa Police (BSAP) |
On 6 August 1977, during the Rhodesian Bush War, a Woolworths store in Salisbury, Rhodesia (today Harare, Zimbabwe) was bombed by nationalist guerillas.[1][2][3] Eleven civilians were killed and 76 were injured. Of those killed, eight were black Rhodesians, including two pregnant women and a young boy, and three were whites, members of a single family, Gillian and Donald Mayor and their mother. Mr Mayor and another daughter, Wendy, were seated in a car outside when the bomb went off.[4]
The bomb, comprising about 75 pounds (34 kg) of high explosives, was planted in an area where customers checked packages in before shopping on the upper floor of the two-storey building. It detonated shortly before the crowded store was to close at noon that Saturday.[5] The perpetrators, two teachers, afterwards escaped to Mozambique.[6]
Ian Smith, the Rhodesian Prime Minister, expressed horror at the bombing. "Those who have perpetrated this barbarous outrage can hardly be described as human," he said.[5] Rhodesian black nationalist leaders Bishop Abel Muzorewa and the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole also condemned the attack.[4]
References
- 1 2 Abbott & Botham 1986, p. 12.
- 1 2 Chung 2006, p. 238.
- 1 2 Cilliers 1984, p. 43.
- 1 2 The Bryan Times newspaper report on the attack, 8 August 1977 accessed 7 September 2014
- 1 2 Lakeland Ledger newspaper report on the attack, 7 August 1977 accessed 7 September 2014
- ↑ Moorcraft & McLaughlin 2008, p. 81.
- Bibliography
- Abbott, Peter; Botham, Philip (1986). Modern African Wars: Rhodesia, 1965–80. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85045-728-5.
- Chung, Fay (2006). Re-Living the Second Chimurenga: Memories from Zimbabwe's Liberation Struggle. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute. ISBN 978-9171065513.
- Cilliers, Jakkie (1984). Counter-Insurgency in Rhodesia. London, Sydney & Dover, New Hampshire: Croom Helm. ISBN 978-0-7099-3412-7.
- Moorcraft, Paul L; McLaughlin, Peter (2008) [1982]. The Rhodesian War: A Military History. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84415-694-8.