Mugabe accused of using hit-squads to target opposition

Mugabe is importing three thousand Angolan police officers to help suppress any dissent in Zimbabwe as opposition leaders claim that he is using police hit-squads to target its supporters around the country.

He has also formed units within the army that respond directly to himself, a clear indication that he fears a military coup. It appears that the mood in Zimbabwe is turning resolutely against him.

"The key new element in the equation that has become obvious over the past 10 to 12 days is the new spirit of resistance, some would say defiance, on the part of the people," said the US ambassador to Harare Christopher Dell. "The people have lost their willingness to go on. They are losing their fear. They are not afraid any more," he said. "They believe they have nothing left to lose."

Mugabe has tried to silence foreign dignitaries by threatening them with expulsion, but many are refusing to be silenced.

"Such threats will not deter the UK from speaking out against the continued misgovernance and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe," a Foreign Office official said.

And the Bush administration have called on South Africa to admit that it's policy of "quiet diplomacy" had failed and called upon them to "forcefully" condemn Mugabe. However, there's fat chance of that happening as long as Mbeki is in charge:

A South African government spokesman Themba Maseko said President Thabo Mbeki's cabinet had discussed the current situation in Zimbabwe yesterday and was "extremely concerned" about it. He told reporters that South Africa did not think a state of emergency would be helpful in Zimbabwe. He said the cabinet believed dialogue was the best way to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis and would continue encouraging it.

However, there is no chance that Mugabe will ever enter into negotiations with the opposition who he regards as "stooges of the west", although what link Mr Tsvangirai has with the west is anyone's guess. The entire thing is a fantasy in Mugabe's head, and a way of appealing to the country's hatred for it's former British colonialists.

Meanwhile, in the townships, the violence is continuing:

Although President Mugabe had not officially declared a state of emergency, opposition and civic groups said one was in effect operational, with the police having imposed curfews in many of the country's high-density slum areas which are also opposition strongholds.

The respected civic group, the Combined Harare Residents Association, documented several cases of individuals who had been severely assaulted by the police after they were seen moving at night in the townships this week.

Eyewitnesses interviewed by telephone yesterday described police operations in the townships of Harare as "hell". One resident of the high-density suburb of Mufakose, said some residents had "more serious injuries" than Morgan Tsvangirai, the Movement for Democratic Change leader who suffered serious head wounds at the hands of the police. The witness said heavily armed police were moving around the suburb at night beating up and dispersing any groups of three or more people.

Mugabe is obviously aware that his position is under threat, which is why we can expect to see much more of this kind of suppression.

However, it is possible to detect cracks in his power base. It's going to get a lot uglier before this old tyrant gives up the reins to his tatty and broken empire.

The real scandal here is Mbeki's complicity. He could help bring this whole situation to a swift conclusion, but he won't. It's a failure of leadership on a reckless scale.

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Tags: Zimbabwe, Mugabe, Mbeki, Tsvangirai