Zimbabwe: 2007 till Mugabe resigns

[tequila]

Interesting that Mugabe is calling in Angolans to do his dirty work. Perhaps some real fractures are appearing in ZANU-PF and, most importantly, the Zimbabwean security services?

[davidbfpo]

This morning the BBC Radio Four news reported conversations between the opposition (MDC) and former security force commanders once loyal to the government (ZANU-PF) on managing the succession.

I suspect this is wishful thinking, or a ploy by the CIO (Zimbabwe's state security). President Mugabe is ruthless.

No-one is likely to intervene, let alone with military force; once again Zimbabwe is being left to resolve it's own problems. Zimbabwe's neighbours are too committed to Mugabe, for historical reasons, comradeship notably in the struggle, to realise their national interest is NOT to see Zimbabwe in ruins.

[davidbfpo]

This week there have reports, including the BBC, that Angola was sending 2500 para-military police, known as the Ninjas, to Zimbabwe as fraternal assistance.

Now the Angolans have issued a denial:

The Angolan government has issued a categorical denial of this story.
It's being suggested that the source of the story was a recent arrangement
for Angola to train Zimbabwe police. Itself an interesting story. Both Reuters and the BBC carried stories about the denial:
http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN324378.html and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6479371.stm

There is also a report of the Zimbabwean Vice-President having a secret meeting in Johannesburg with her South African opposite number; the Vice President's husband is a former Zimbabwe Defence Force commander.

Murky business.

[Jedburgh]

BBC, 14 Jun 07: Zimbabwe 'collapse in six months'

Zimbabwe will collapse within six months, possibly leading to a state of emergency, says a leaked briefing report for aid workers in the country.
Rampant inflation will mean shops and services can no longer function and people would resort to barter, it said.

"The memorandum is talking about a situation where there is no functioning government or a total breakdown," an unnamed aid worker told the UK Times.

Zimbabwe's inflation is already 3,714% - the highest rate in the world....

[Mark O'Neill]

Interesting that Mugabe is calling in Angolans to do his dirty work. Perhaps some real fractures are appearing in ZANU-PF and, most importantly, the Zimbabwean security services?

Good Call, and in my opinion, spot on.

He hasn't paid the security forces enough to keep up with the burlesque levels of inflation that the country has recently witnessed, I believe that the loyalties of the police and militray are switching to 'new' ZANU-PF contenders.

The use of the Angolans has echoes of the use of the Korean trained (backed) 5th brigade in the brutal supression of Matabeleland after independence. It worked once....