2
the Portuguese, seeking to prepare for a FRELIMO offensive in Men ica e Sofala,
gave out weapons to the population to "defend themselves."  'in the first day of
our operations," dos Santos noted,"the people gave us over 1009 of these weapons."
Manica e Sofala is one of the richest and most densely populated provinces
of Mozambique, and contains large deposits of copper, iron, and gold, important
industries, and large French and British-owned plantations.  As in the assault
on the Cabora Bassa Dam project, FRELIMO is not only directly fighting Portuguese colonialism, but the foreign interests which support it.
A critical point mentionned by Marcelino dos Santos about the opening of
the Manica e Sofala front is that FRELIMO's gains are see** with growing alarm
by the white rulers o:  Rhodesia and South Africa.  Beira is the nerve center of
central Mozambique and the railhead which connects the Rhodesian capital of
Salisbury to the sea.  The illegal white minority regime of Ian Smith, the target
of U.N.-imposed economic sanctions, is heavily dependent on the Beira line for
its economic survi\*al.  It is also the  rail and road head for the lines which
run to Malawi and the Cabora Bassa Region.  Salisbury and Pretoria, clearly
alarmed by FRELIMO's rapid advances^have recently entered high level discussions
with Lisbon.  In mid-October, Ian Smith visited Portugal, while Rhodesian and
Portuguese officials worked for a week on a secret agreement on defense strategies
which was signed by Smith and Caetano (Guardian, U.K., 14 Oct. '72).  In July,
the defense ministers of Portugal and  South Africa met in Lorenzo  Marques for
discussions on the military situation (Daily News, Tanzania, July 12, '72).
Then in late October, the Defense Ministers and military chiefs of staff of
Rhodesia and South Africa met in Salisbury.  In a headline story, the Sunday
Times  of Johannesburg noted that,
The Rhodesian Government, in particular, is becoming increasinglv
doubtful whether the Portuguese can safely contain FRELIMO rebel
activity in Mozambique (Sunday Times, j'burg, Oct. 29,'72)
While Rhodesia and South Africa are reacting with a new sense of urgency,
actual military intervention by the two powers has been going on for some time.
In his discussion of the implications of the opening of the fourth front,
dos Santos noted that South Africa has been involved since 1966;  first, by
sending aircraft, and later, technical and military advisors.  This year, South
African-made herbicides were used to spray food crops in FRELIMO-liberated
areas of Cabo Delgado.  The planes were piloted by South African mercenaries
who quit after coming under heavy FRELIMO anti-aircraft fire. Antony Gifford
of the English Committee ""or the Freedom of Mozambique, Angola, and Guinea-
Bissau observed South African and Rhodesian army helicopters while on tour of
liberated areas of Tete as a guest of FRELIMO.  Rhodesian military involvement
has also been extensive, and has included the deployment of ground combat troops
as well as air and technical support.  In March of this year, FRELIMO fire
downed a Rhodesian helicopter and a reconnaisance plane in Tete (Daily News,
Tanzania).  The January-March issue of Mozambique Revolution reported massacres
of the civilian population of Tete carried out by joint Rhodesian-Portuguese
units.
It seems clear that the stage is being set by Rhodesia and South Africa
for more widescale intervention.  In August, South African Prime Minister
Vorster promised that "South Africawould help any country to fight
terrorism if aid were requested." (Christian Science Monitor, U.S., August 31,
'72)  Vorster's announcement came only a week after the Rhodesian Minister of
Defense, Howman, spoke of the possible* deployment of Rhodesian troops in Mozambique.  Both statements coincided with the rapidly deteriorating Portuguese