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Mnangagwa unclear if some ZNA personnel are mercenaries in Libya
23 Feb 2011 at 17:05hrs | Views
MDC-T Chief Whip Innocent Gonese on Wednesday quizzed the Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa about the Zimbabwean soldiers alleged to have been deployed to help Gaddaffi with the shooting down of unarmed Libyan civilians protesting against his 42-year rule.
"Mr Speaker, I would like to know from the Minister of Defence, Emmerson Mnangagwa, whether there is any truth in the recent press reports that many mercenaries assisting Libyan leader Muammar Al-Gaddafi are personnel from the ZNA," asked Gonese. "What is the government policy regarding the use of force by armed forces against civilians?" he added.
In response Mnangagwa did not rule out the allegations instead he added, "I have no mandate in my duty as Minister of Defence to investigate activities happening in another African country.
"It is possible for the honourable member to direct his question to the Foreign Affairs ministry, who might also enquire through foreign relations if there are any African countries participating there,"
Mnangagwa said there was no provision in the country's laws to participate in events outside the country.
"Whether the government of Zimbabwe has any policy where members of the Zimbabwe National Army are allowed to participate in cases or in events outside the country, I would like to advise honourable members that we do not have that provision in the Defence Act," he said.
However, in 1997 Zimbabwe sent thousands of combat troops backed by jet fighters and heavy artillery to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to prop up the late Laurent Kabila against rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda.
The Zimbabwe military managed to halt the rebels' advancement to Kinshasa, the DRC capital.
The protracted war, which sucked in several countries including Namibia, Angola and Chad, ended in 2002 after peace talks.
Recently a video was uploaded on YouTube showing 12 bodies believed to be Libyan soldiers, who where executed because they had refused to follow orders to kill innocent unarmed civilians. All the soldiers had their hands tied up.
"Mr Speaker, I would like to know from the Minister of Defence, Emmerson Mnangagwa, whether there is any truth in the recent press reports that many mercenaries assisting Libyan leader Muammar Al-Gaddafi are personnel from the ZNA," asked Gonese. "What is the government policy regarding the use of force by armed forces against civilians?" he added.
In response Mnangagwa did not rule out the allegations instead he added, "I have no mandate in my duty as Minister of Defence to investigate activities happening in another African country.
"It is possible for the honourable member to direct his question to the Foreign Affairs ministry, who might also enquire through foreign relations if there are any African countries participating there,"
"Whether the government of Zimbabwe has any policy where members of the Zimbabwe National Army are allowed to participate in cases or in events outside the country, I would like to advise honourable members that we do not have that provision in the Defence Act," he said.
However, in 1997 Zimbabwe sent thousands of combat troops backed by jet fighters and heavy artillery to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to prop up the late Laurent Kabila against rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda.
The Zimbabwe military managed to halt the rebels' advancement to Kinshasa, the DRC capital.
The protracted war, which sucked in several countries including Namibia, Angola and Chad, ended in 2002 after peace talks.
Recently a video was uploaded on YouTube showing 12 bodies believed to be Libyan soldiers, who where executed because they had refused to follow orders to kill innocent unarmed civilians. All the soldiers had their hands tied up.
Source - Byo24NEWS
