Tue, Mar 09, 2004
Claims Mercenaries Onboard
Zimbabwe has seized a
U.S. - registered cargo plane with 64 suspected mercenaries of
various nationalities and a cargo of "military material," Home
Affairs (Interior) Minister Kembo Mohadi said on Monday.
"A United States of America-registered Boeing 727-100 cargo
plane was detained last night at about 1930 hours (12:30 ET) at
Harare International Airport after its owners had made a false
declaration of its cargo and crew," Mohadi said in a statement.
"The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of
various nationalities," he said, adding that an investigation had
also revealed "military material" in the cargo.
Mohadi said fuller investigations were under way to establish
the identity of the men and the nature of their mission. There was
no word on where the airplane arrived from, or whether Zimbabwe was
its destination. Mohadi said another statement would be released
"in due course." The Asscoaited Press could not reach officials at
the U.S. Embassy in Harare for comment.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has been engaged in a bitter
war of words with both the United States and Britain, which have
accused him of a political crackdown following his victory in the
2002 presidential elections, which the opposition and Western
observers said were flawed. Mugabe in turn accuses Western powers
of attempting to undermine his government in retaliation for his
controversial seizure of white-owned farms for distribution to
landless blacks.
Once one of the most prosperous countries in southern Africa,
Zimbabwe now faces regular shortages of food, fuel and foreign
exchange as well as soaring rates of inflation and high
unemployment.
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