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Zimbabwe says air force chief wounded in attack
Staff and agencies
The reports followed accusations from the government that the opposition is training militants to overthrow President Robert Mugabe. The opposition says such allegations are baseless, but could be a pretext for the government to declare a state of emergency that would give Mugabe broad policing powers.
Shiri, a former guerrilla leader, commanded loyalist troops who crushed an armed rebellion against Mugabe in the western Matabeland province after independence in 1980.
He said it followed two bomb blasts in the main Harare police station and a botched bombing of a highway bridge and railroad line west of Harare last year, both of which caused little damage.
On Monday, Patrick Chinamasa, Mugabe‘s justice minister, was quoted as saying he had "compelling evidence" that MDC members were being trained in neighboring Botswana to fight. Botswana President Seretse Ian Khama has been one of the few African leaders to openly criticize Mugabe.
Mugabe has ruled the country since its 1980 independence from Britain. He refused to leave office following disputed elections in March. Power sharing has been agreed to as a solution to the election dispute, with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister and Mugabe continuing as president.
The political deadlock comes amid a mounting economic and humanitarian crisis that has pushed thousands to the point of starvation and left nearly 1,000 dead of cholera since August.
"If we start seeing huge numbers of people going across the border into those countries bringing with them cholera or being exposed to cholera, then it could be like a wildfire in the bush," said Matthew Cochrane, a spokesman for the federation. "We really could see the whole region flare up."
The rapid spread in Zimbabwe of cholera, which is easily curable, has been caused by the collapse of the country‘s health care and water supply systems. Zimbabweans also face spiraling inflation and shortages of food and most other basic goods.
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