Botswana has criticised a weekend newspaper report that it was ”at the centre of war talk as the Zimbabwean crisis escalates”.
The Defence Ministry issued a statement on Monday reacting to a story entitled ”Botswana prepares for war?” in the Sunday Standard newspaper, which reported that the Botswana Defence Force had held a meeting to discuss this.
”In this context, the government of Botswana wishes to reassure the public that it is not aware of any such ‘war talk’ outside of the sensational speculation that has been published by a handful of media outlets.
”Moreover, while it is the permanent mission of the Botswana Defence Force to be prepared to defend the country at all times, we do not currently anticipate the likelihood of armed conflict on any of our borders.
”In this respect we would further note that, contrary to what is suggested in the article, that the Defence Council has not met on the issue.”
The Defence Ministry warned against speculating about issues involving national security, saying it could give rise to undue alarm. — Sapa