AFRICA: Odd Couple at Odds

The Zambezi River is a traditional —and usually tranquil—dividing line between black-ruled and white-ruled Africa. In the past two months, however, the muddy, snaking river that separates Zambia from Rhodesia has become something of a war zone. Its banks are studded on both sides with mines, its waters are patrolled by Zambian and Rhodesian gunboats, and gunfire echoes sporadically along its 400-mile border section.

Both landlocked countries, Zambia and Rhodesia were forced into an uneasy cohabitation by economic necessity. Zambia needed Rhodesia to transport half of its copper to the Indian Ocean...

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