Zimbabwe ends sweep of Bulawayo townships

March 9, 1983

Zimbabwe's government ended its house-to-house search of Bulawayo-area black townships. A government spokesman called the operation a success, but would only say that several dissidents and Army deserters had been arrested. Other reports said 1,000 blacks had been detained in the four-day sweep. The government dismissed assertions by opposition leader Joshua Nkomo that the operation was aimed at killing him and destroying his Zimbabwe African People's Union.