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Mugabe deploys more veterans to boost campaign
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's party said on Wednesday it would deploy more war veterans to campaign in opposition areas ahead of a presidential election run-off marred by violence.Opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai accuses the ruling ZANU-PF of widespread attacks on his supporters but says he is confident of victory in the June 27 poll after beating Mugabe in the first round. ZANU-PF officials in the southern Masvingo province, where the ruling party has lost several parliamentary seats in rural districts traditionally considered safe, told Zimbabwe state television they had stepped up their campaign against "troublesome spots where MDC structures had taken root". "We are setting up units of war veterans to go to those areas to fan out the MDC, to campaign for President Mugabe, to confront and talk to some company managers who are openly supporting these MDC structures," said retired Major Alex Mudavanhu, ZANU-PF chairman for Masvingo. "We are going to tell people that ZANU-PF is not going to lose this election," he said. Mugabe's guerrilla fighters from the 1970s independence war and ruling party youth brigades are regularly used as political shock troops against the opposition and have recently been threatening to launch another bush war if Mugabe loses. Posted by: Fred 2008-06-12 |
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