diff --git a/pisi/archive.py b/pisi/archive.py
index 5e428a38..e48c8d45 100644
--- a/pisi/archive.py
+++ b/pisi/archive.py
@@ -160,6 +160,9 @@ class ArchiveZip(ArchiveBase):
  
                 if info.external_attr == self.symmagic:
                     target = zip_obj.read(info.filename)
+                    # remove target file we might be overwriting
+                    if os.path.exists(target):
+                        os.remove(target)
                     os.symlink(target, ofile)
                 else:
                     perm = info.external_attr