Zimbabwe National Army(ZNA) has been deployed on the Mozambique border to fight RENAMO bandits, former Defence Minister and Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.
Renamo rebels have been known to cross into eastern Zimbabwe as refugees and travellers in the past and zwnews.com reported about acts of banditry and random looting and raiding carried out by Mozambican rebels in areas between Chipinge and Mutare.
While there was no official response from Zimbabwe army, this publication reported that Zimbabwe Special Forces were already operating along the Mozambique-Zimbabwe border.
Yesterday, Zimbabwe’s stand-in-President told Parliament that Renamo was becoming a big problem that needed to be dealt with decisively.
Without trying to sound like a war monger, the ever combative Mnangagwa highlighted the war like situation on Zimbabwe’s eastern border;
“Renamo is trying to provoke us, they have killed one person in Zimbabwe and taken away 49 cattle, they captured one person. People heard gun sounds and discovered a body later.
“As security, we have already deployed our army to protect those in the danger zone in a military sense”, said Mnangagwa.
Without getting into details Mnangagwa revealed the scale of the military operation explaining that people are already being relocated while they are also getting food relief.
ZimNews was informed by frightened villagers in early 2016 that Renamo bandits are known to visit Zimbabwe communities in Chipinge area at night where they demand food, medicines and money. Sometimes they have reportedly taken away people’s livestock taking advantage of poor security along the country’s eastern border.
We also received reports that a number of ZNA soldiers travelling to Mozambique were ambushed and killed by Renamo rebels. This has never been confirmed or denied by Zimbabwe army as it is their policy not to report combat related deaths.
