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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Zimbabwe holds S. African plane with mercenaries

The Zimbabwean government has seized a South African-owned Boeing 727 aircraft allegedly carrying 64 mercenaries and weapons, local daily reported Tuesday.


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The Zimbabwean government has seized a South African-owned Boeing 727 aircraft allegedly carrying 64 mercenaries and weapons, local daily reported Tuesday.

The Star reported that South Africans were reportedly among the mercenaries said to be on board.

Sources in the Zimbabwean government Monday said the incident had heightened the government's fears of a "foreign-sponsored invasion of Zimbabwe."

The aircraft was impounded at the Harare International Airport on Sunday night "after its owners had made a false declaration of its cargo and crew," said Zimbabwean Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi in a statement on Monday.

"The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities," said Mohadi, adding that an investigation had also uncovered military equipment.

The Zimbabwean government claimed the Boeing was US-registered.Reports from Harare say Zimbabwean state television footage showedthe number N4610 on the side of the white aircraft.

US Federal Aviation Administration records show N4610 to be a 727 plane registered to Dodson Aviation Inc., based in Ottawa, Kansas.

Robert Dodson, owner and CEO of Dodson Aviation, confirmed Monday night that his company had bought the aircraft from the US Air Force in 1985 and sold it last week to Logo Ltd., a South African company which he thought was based in Pretoria.

"I think it's a reputable company and that Mugabe wanted an aircraft," Dodson said last night.

The alleged mercenaries were believed to include South Africans,Angolans and Congolese, a senior US official said Monday. The South African government was unable to confirm this Monday night.

The US official said the aircraft had nothing to do with the USgovernment and he believed that if it was on a mercenary mission, the aim was probably not to topple President Robert Mugabe.

"We don't think this was an attempt to dot (kill) Mugabe. We think they were just passing through, probably to one of the well-known island trouble spots," the official said.

This account tallied with that of a Zimbabwean government official who said the aircraft had strayed into Zimbabwean airspace and had been forced by the Zimbabwe Air Force to land at Harare airport.

Authorities said no formal charges had been made.

Zimbabwean chief police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said reporters had been taken aboard the plane toexamine the cargo, which included a rubber dinghy, military uniforms, wire cutters, armor, compasses and other military hardware.

Source: Xinhua




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