Mugabe and family safe, says milita­ryHARARE: Zimbabwe was on a knife’s edge on Thursday after the military seized power in what it dubbed a targeted operation against ‘criminals’ in the entourage of President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled the southern African nation for almost four decades. It was not clear whether the apparent military coup would bring a formal end to the 93-year-old Mugabe’s rule. The main goal of the generals appeared to be preventing Mugabe’s wife Grace, 41 years his junior, from succeeding him. Zimbabwe military says seizes power to stop ‘criminals’Local media reported South Africa’s defence and state security ministers, dispatched by President Jacob Zuma as regional envoys, arrived in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, on Wednesday night and were expected to meet both Mugabe and the military. Zuma earlier called for “calm and restraint” and asked the defence forces “to ensure that peace and stability are not undermined in Zimbabwe,” South Africa’s neighbour, which has lurched from crisis to crisis over the past two decades.

Source: The Express Tribune November 16, 2017 05:37 UTC