War veterans tear into Mugabe

Angry war veterans yesterday launched a stinging attack on President Robert Mugabe with similar echoes to their infamous communique of last year before claiming that they had formed a revolutionary council to take over the affairs of Zanu-PF ahead of next year's elections.

This came out of a joint meeting of ex-combatants from former Zanla and Zipra liberation war fronts who waged a debilitating armed struggle against the Rhodesian minority.

Yesterday, the ex-combatants said they had fired Mugabe from the original Zanu-PF while claiming rights to the party's assets, including towering multi-story national headquarters located in Harare.