Dumisani Muleya
2 December 2008
Johannesburg — A GROUP of marauding Zimbabwean soldiers stormed through the streets of the capital, Harare, yesterday, indiscriminately attacking civilians and looting shops, and sparking a stampede across the city.
The dramatic incident which nearly triggered riots -- the second inside five days -- shows growing unrest and indiscipline within the disgruntled security forces who are hard hit by economic hardship.
Scores of soldiers assaulted people, mainly civilians and foreign currency dealers, accusing them of doing nothing about the crisis.
They randomly beat up and kicked everyone they came across with fists and boots.
The soldiers were dropped in army trucks and buses across the city before they started their attacks, witnesses said.
Chanting threats such as "the war is on" and "attack", the troops ran through the streets and punched and knocked down foreign currency dealers and bystanders.
Some dealers and youths loitering in the streets retaliated, hurling stones and other missiles at the soldiers, who were forced to flee for safety.
Shops and offices around Meikles Hotel, a five star facility in the heart of the city, were damaged.
Zimbabwe is reeling from an economic meltdown. The country is gripped by shortages of foreign currency, food and basic commodities, drugs, chemicals, spares, and nearly all critical imports.
Harare was yesterday virtually without water, forcing companies to send employees home. The city shut down water supplies in a misguided attempt to defeat the cholera epidemic.
About 400 people have died in the cholera outbreak, which has affected thousands in the country and has spread to neighbouring SA and Botswana.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the water shortages would worsen the cholera epidemic.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said at the weekend the situation had reached "catastrophic levels".
Receiving a pro-democracy award in Morocco, Tsvangirai urged the international community to intervene to rescue suffering masses.
"Our country is consumed by a man-made humanitarian crisis with a recent outbreak of cholera so far having claimed more than 500 lives. The food situation is our country is deplorable; more than 5,5-million people in our country will need food aid, which is more than half the people still residing in the country," he said.
"I appeal to the rest of the world to move with speed to assist us address the humanitarian situation as it has reached catastrophic levels."
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