During the war, hundreds of thousands of people died from famine, particularly the devastating famine of 1984. The famine was attributable to the weather conditions at the time but was significantly worsened by the conflict between RENAMO and FRELIMO. War crimes The Mozambican civil war saw war crimes committed by both sides on a massive scale and in an organised manner. No RENAMO or FRELIMO commanders have ever been prosecuted for war crimes due to an unconditional general amnesty law for the period from 1976 to 1992 passed by the Mozambican parliament (then still composed entirely of FRELIMO members) in 1992. RENAMO RENAMO systematically committed atrocities as part of its war and destabilization strategies. These included massacres, rapes and mutilation of non-combatants during attacks on villages and towns, the use of child soldiers and the employment of the Gandira system, which involved forced labour and sexual violence. Women would often be abducted in the fields, then raped as a means to boost troop morale. The Gandira system also contributed to famine, as the rural population was made to produce food for RENAMO and unable to produce food for themselves. Others were made to transport supplies for RENAMO in long marches. Refusing to participate in Gandira or falling behind on the marches would result in severe beating and often execution. Attempting to escape was also punished harshly. One particularly gruesome practice was the mutilation and killing of children left behind by escaped parents. RENAMO's brutal tactics quickly earned it a negative reputation among much of Mozambique's population who referred to them as "Armed Bandits" and endorsed beatings against them, even pressuring the military into a public execution of four RENAMO rebels in 1983. RENAMO's atrocities gained worldwide attention in July 1987, following a massacre of 424 civilians during a raid on the rural town of Homoine, which was lightly defended by 90 FRELIMO soldiers. The victims of the massacre included hospital patients. This incident prompted an investigation into RENAMO's tactics by US-State Department consultant Robert Gersony, which finally put an end to ambitions from some conservative politicians for US government support for RENAMO. The report concluded that RENAMO's attack in Homoine did not significantly differ from the tactics it normally employed in such raids. The report described RENAMO's methods in the following way:The attack stage was sometimes reported to begin with what appeared to the inhabitants to be the indiscriminate firing