Bloodshed if Mnangagwa bid fails

Any attempts to stop Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa from succeeding President Robert Mugabe will result in bloodshed, war veterans have warned in the most ominous message yet, as the race to succeed the veteran ruler turns sinister.

The warning was reportedly issued by war veterans' chairman Christopher Mutsvangwa while addressing former freedom fighters in Gweru at the weekend.

Mutsvangwa also reportedly told the meeting Mnangagwa was the only person to succeed Mugabe and was "the only man known in China".

The war veterans' chairman told the meeting he had been asked in China who would succeed Mugabe and he put forward Mnangagwa's name in "order to attract the Chinese businesspeople".