Convoy in Gaza Province 1986

This photo taken in 1986 in Gaza Province, depicts the movement of a convoy. By this time, it was no longer the peak of the civil war, however, RENAMO was still active in various parts of the country in an attempt to destabilize it. Given the insecurity, convoys of trucks heavy and light, transporting goods and people waited their turn to be escorted by the Mozambican army (FAM) along the main national highway, EN1.

The photo does not include dates but 1986 was also the year in which Samora Machel was killed in a plane crash. It was also two years after the Inkomati Accords were signed and there was already evidence that the South African had increased the number of attacks in Mozambique. Some of the press material, especially one report by Colonel Aurelio Manave to the national newspaper stated that the security had improved and that it was now possible to travel from one corner of Gaza to another.