The 1980 Entumbane clashes, also known as Entumbane I, occurred in and around

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

between 9 and 10 November 1980, amid political tensions in the months immediately following Zimbabwean independence. Fighting broke out in the city's western suburb of Entumbane between groups of guerrillas from the

Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant African nationalist organisation that participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhod ...

(ZANLA) and others from the

Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), a Marxist–Leninist political party in Rhodesia. It participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhode ...

(ZIPRA), days after the two factions were put into coterminous assembly camps there to await integration into the new

Zimbabwe National Army The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is the primary branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces responsible for land-oriented military operations. It is the largest service branch under the Zimbabwean Joint Operations Command (JOC). The modern army h ...

. A four-hour firefight, precipitated by a speech by government minister

Enos Nkala Enos Mzombi Nkala (23 August 1932 – 21 August 2013) was one of the founders of the Zimbabwe African National Union. Political career Role in ZANU-PF During the Rhodesian Bush War, he served on the ZANU high command, or Dare reChimurenga as ...

threatening that ZANLA would ultimately destroy ZIPRA, ended when the largely white-led BSAP Support Unit, numbering over 280 men from Echo Troop, Juliet Troop, Hotel Troop, Charlie Troop and Lima Troop, intervened on behalf of the government. (The

Rhodesian African Rifles The Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) was a regiment of the Rhodesian Army. The ranks of the RAR were recruited from the black African population, although officers were generally from the white population. The regiment was formed in May 1940 in the ...

at that time were confined to barracks due to disagreements about integration into the new Zimbabwean National Army. They were officially on "reaction standby".) Officers from both guerrilla forces then called for a ceasefire. Official government figures counted 58 dead (15 combatants and 43 civilians) and over 500 wounded, but eyewitness accounts describe a death toll running into the hundreds. The conflict was followed four months later by the larger

1981 Entumbane Uprising The 1981 Entumbane uprising, also known as the Battle of Bulawayo or Entumbane II, occurred between 8 and 12 February 1981 in and around Bulawayo, Zimbabwe amid political tensions in the newly independent state. Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary ...

, also known as Entumbane II, which nearly developed into a new civil war.

Notes and references

;References ;Bibliography * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Entumbane I Aftermath of the Rhodesian Bush War 1980 in Zimbabwe 20th-century rebellions Battles involving Zimbabwe Bulawayo Conflicts in 1980 Rebellions in Africa 1980 murders in Zimbabwe Battles in 1980