The new North Korean-trained unit , dubbed 5 Brigade , passed out in December 1982 , and was deployed by Mugabe to Matabeleland , where it remained for the next five years . In what became known as '' Gukurahundi '' , it perpetrated a number of brutal massacres and atrocities against civilians in Matabeleland accused of supporting " dissidents " , far exceeding anything that had occurred during the Bush War . Estimates for the number of deaths range from 10,000 to 30,000 . The campaign officially ended in December 1987 when Mugabe and Nkomo signed a unity accord merging ZAPU into ZANU – PF with the stated goal of a one-party state
Gukurahundi
Gukurahundi
1981 Entumbane uprising