Amnesty International released the first-ever satellite images of the wholesale destruction of a large community in Zimbabwe — providing evidence to date of the devastating impact of the Zimbabwean government’s policy of house demolitions.

"These satellite images are irrefutable evidence — if further evidence is even needed — that the Zimbabwean government has obliterated entire communities — completely erased them from the map, as if they never existed," Kolawole Olaniyan, director of Amnesty International’s Africa program, said in a statement.

The organization commissioned the satellite images from Colorado-based Digitalglobe to demonstrate the complete destruction of Porta Farm — a large, informal settlement that was established 16 years ago and had schools, a children’s center and a mosque.

"The images are a graphic indictment of the Zimbabwean government’s policies. They show the horrifying transition of an area from a vibrant community to rubble and shrubs — in the space of just 10 months," Olaniyan said.

In May 2005 the government of Zimbabwe embarked on Operation Murambatsvina "Restore Order", a program of forced evictions and the demolition of homes and informal businesses. The operation targeted poor urban and peri-urban areas countrywide.

On June 25, approximately one month after the start of Operation Murambatsvina, police officers came to Porta Farm and distributed fliers telling residents to pack up their property and leave their homes. The police told the residents they would be back the following morning, giving them less than 24 hours to comply.

Early in the morning of June 28, a convoy of vehicles and police descended on Porta Farm. Residents watched as bulldozers and police officers reduced their homes to rubble. The Porta Farm evictions took place while the United Nations Special Envoy, Anna Tibaijuka, was in Zimbabwe. On June 29, members of the Special Envoy’s team visited Porta Farm and witnessed demolitions and forced removal of people in police and government trucks.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science analyzed the satellite images released by Amnesty International.