Zimbabwean security authorities have impounded a United States-registered aircraft that landed at the country’s main international airport with military equipment and 64 men aboard suspected to be mercenaries, Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi announced on Monday.
”A United States of America-registered Boeing 727-100 cargo plane was detained last night [Sunday] at about 7.30pm [local time] at Harare International airport after its owners had made a false declaration of its cargo and crew,” the minister told a news conference.
”The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities,” he said.
”Further investigations also revealed that on board the plane was military materiel.”
However, neither the Zimbabwean High Commission in Pretoria, nor the United States embassy in Harare, knew anything by 4pm on Monday about the reports that Zimbabwe had impounded a US-registered aircraft.
Mohadi said full details would be issued in due course but that in the meantime investigations were under way to establish the ”true identities of the men and their ultimate mission”.
The plane had been moved to a military base, he said.
What had been done with those on board was not immediately clear.
”I have no information to give,” said a US embassy official in Harare. ”The first I heard about this was about 15 minutes ago when the phones started ringing.”
The Pretoria office of Zimbabwean High Commissioner Simon Moyo referred media enquiries to Harare, saying it also had no information.
The South African Department of Foreign Affairs could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Defence Ministry in Harare referred enquiries to the Information Ministry, where a spokesperson could not be reached. — Sapa, Sapa-AFP