SW Radio Africa (London)

Libya: Zimbabwean Army Helping Gaddafi in Libya

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Libyans inside and outside country are still calling for a no-fly zone to keep Gaddafi from flying in more mercenaries and prevent air strikes.

Speculation that members of the Zimbabwe National Army are in Libya to help prop up cornered dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, has gained momentum.

This follows Zimbabwe's Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa avoiding giving a straight answer to a question posed in Parliament.

With the eastern part of Libya having fallen to anti-Gaddafi protesters, it's being reported that mercenaries from several African countries, including Zimbabwe, are putting up a stand in the west of the country, including the capital Tripoli, on behalf of Gaddafi.

They are reportedly gunning down unarmed civilians at random and Arab TV channel Al Jazeera said that Zimbabwe was helping to provide mercenaries, along with Chad and other African countries.

In Parliament on Wednesday MDC-T MP and Chief Whip, Innocent Gonese, asked Mnangagwa to respond to reports that soldiers from Zimbabwe are involved. Instead of giving a straight answer Mnangagwa said "...that there are mercenaries who are African and are in Libya - I have no mandate in my duty as Minister of Defence to investigate activities happening in another African country."

More rambling followed as Mnangagwa asked Gonese to "direct his question to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, who might also enquire through foreign relations if there are any African countries participating there."

Although he went on to say there was no provision in the defence act for members of the army "to participate in cases or in events outside the country," he avoided giving a "yes or no' answer to Gonese's simple question.

Zimbabweans will however remember that in 1997 Mugabe's regime, without consultation, sent troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to help the late Laurent Kabila against rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda. The intervention and the huge sums of money spent funding it crippled Zimbabwe's economy, while regime officials lined their pockets with mineral concessions.

Meanwhile it's being reported that Gaddafi is weighing up his options in terms of which country to flee to for sanctuary. Zimbabwe is emerging as a firm favourite, with London-based Libyan political activist Guma el-Gamaty, telling the Australian ABC news channel that "quite reliable sources" believe Gaddafi is readying to flee his country and heading to Zimbabwe.

"Gaddafi's own private plane is loaded with gold bullion and lots of hard currency, mainly dollars, and is preparing to flee to Zimbabwe to stay there with his friend Robert Mugabe. We think this could happen very shortly because the (UN) Security Council is threatening to impose a no-fly zone and we think that Gaddafi will try to escape before this no-fly zone is imposed," Guma el-Gamaty said.

Mugabe is no stranger to giving sanctuary to murderous dictators. Former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam was offered a safe haven in Zimbabwe, despite being sentenced to death by an Ethiopian court for crimes against humanity. He remains happily ensconced in his villa in the suburb of Gunhill, outside Harare, to this day.

Major Protais Mpiranya, a Rwandan army officer accused of ordering the murder of that country's Prime Minister and the Belgian soldiers who protected her, is also said to be hiding in Zimbabwe. Mpiranya, a Hutu extremist who formerly led the Presidential Guard in Rwanda, is wanted for genocide and crimes against humanity by the UN war crimes tribunal.

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Comments Post a comment

  • foryohjonathan0000
    Feb 24 2011, 17:20

    To all, "Africans and Africa". Don't let them take or get on hold of Libya; if they do, the whole of Africa including Libya are doom and the hands of evil will continue their hidden destruction upon Africa and Africans for another centuries to come. Libyans count on your true friends and don't let your country falls in the wrong hands. Ghadafi for sure is a great president; and please remember that these people NEVER wanted to see a good president for any resources rich african country. That's for sure !!!

  • DL
    Feb 24 2011, 19:42

    And your point is what? Please try to compose a complete sentence that expresses a whole thought.

  • takunya_ndebvu
    Feb 28 2011, 12:16

    DL;

    Cde foryohjonathan0000's sentences are complete and very meaningful; it is your brain that is incomplete and twisted. He has clearly told you that all Africans and Africa should rally behind the Great leader Mammar Qaddafi so that his country does not fall into the hands of invaders once again.

    The situation and circumstances obtaining in Libya are totally different from what they were in Tunisia and Egypt before the so-called ‘revolution’. Even the staging of the so-called 'revolution' is totally different from how it was done (to show that it was people driven) in Tunisia and Egypt. In Libya we have an armed rebellion and bandits masquerading as a 'revolution' to remove a 'dictator'.

    In Libya we have former colonisers eying Libyan oil by fomenting chaos. What is happening in Libya is just a classic case of a few sellouts and rebels within Qaddafi's inner circle taking advantage of the wave of change in dictator-gripped Arab countries to start a so-called revolution when in actual fact it is just an attempted coup that failed.

    What are two ministers in a cabinet of 40 ministers and senior officials; what are 9 diplomats out of a thousand Libyan diplomats throughout the world? And you hear Al Jazeera peddling the lie that Qaddafi has lost support of his most trusted lieutenants - what hogwash.

    Just look at or listen to the other lies being churned out by Al Jazeera about so-called genocide being perpetrated by Qaddafi and his sons. TOTAL FALSEHOODS; MISINFORMATION; DISINFORMATION; and pure PROPAGANDA of unparalleled magnitude! They continue showing us the same pictures they have been showing since the first day they started covering events in Libya.

    They strategically refuse to show us actual genocide taking place in Bengazi and other rebel held cities where these American funded sellouts and rebels are killing Africans alleging that they are helping, as mercenaries, President Qaddafi. If they are eventually forced to show us the pictures of dead Africans, which have become common now, they attribute these killings to "forces loyal to Qaddafi".

    The same Qaddafi who hired mercenaries to help him defeat terrorists is killing his defenders – what illogical thinking and reasoning? Is Qaddafi now controlling Bengazi and the other towns where we have so many Africans being killed? The towns and cities are now in the hands of bandits supported by America and Britain and the EU and it is from these cities that the few Africans who have survived the genocide are escaping from and not from Tripoli.

    What a pack of lies this has proved to be but not before they killed thousands and thousand of Africans who were innocently working in Libya. Nobody talks about genocide because it is Africans being killed, the same biased racism that played out during colonialism and slavery is now being repeated. When Africans die (even in their thousands) there is not genocide but when a white man dies it is genocide and somebody has to be taken to the ICC which they subscribe to ONLY when they want an African leader to be humiliated.

    They peddle the lie, through the mouth pieces in Harare (MDC-T sellouts), that Zimbabwe has send troops to Libya to help prop up Mammar Qaddafi. Even though our Minister of Defence denied the rumours, they still insist that Zimbabwean troops are in Libya – ‘that is why he (Qaddafi) has not fallen up to now and seems to be gaining ground’.

    In any case what is wrong with helping a brother in trouble? If I was as young as I was when I joined the war of liberation I would gladly take up the challenge to defend Libyan territory against invaders. But even now, if the push comes to shove, I will once again be counted as being one of the defenders of African sovereignty.

  • foryohjonathan0000
    Mar 1 2011, 01:57

    CONGRAT brother and cde Takunya, and I will be right besides you to fight for Africa freedom !!!

  • jeffjedi06
    Feb 24 2011, 22:14

    If that is true it will make Robber's demise quicker thats all. If not well robber wont live too much longer - we can wait without fear of a bloodbath. And if the pople want real change lets go to the streest and challenge the regime of the Robber. Whichever way hes going - God will have his say too.

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