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| Africa Subsaharan | |
| MoD works on evacuation plan for 22,000 Britons in Zimbabwe | |
| 2007-08-17 | |
| British military commanders are reviewing contingency plans for the evacuation of up to 22,000 Britons from Zimbabwe after months of rising violence and food shortages. The Ministry of Defence has been asked to look urgently at what logistical help it could provide amid “real concerns” in Whitehall about Zimbabwe’s slide into chaos. Diplomatic sources said that the review was focusing on a “civil contingency plan”, which included seeking help from neighbouring countries. There is no plan to send in troops. “Military evacuation from a third country would only be used as a last resort,” one source said. Under existing plans, Britons would be advised to take routes out of Zimbabwe into South Africa and to head for a former military base at Artonvilla in Limpopo province. The MoD has been asked to consider whether it could help in the airlift of Britons from the region. The diplomatic sources said that if the MoD were unable to do so, chartered commercial aircraft would fly the evacuees to Britain. “At the last count there were between 17,500 and 22,000 British nationals still living in Zimbabwe. If there was an evacuation they would be entitled to bring their families and dependants with them, which is what happened when we evacuated British passport holders from Lebanon last year,” an official said.
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| Posted by:lotp |
| #15 Rhodesia, you're largely correct about America not giving a shiat. We didn't have much of a dog in the fight as we looked at it as a British colonial adventure coming to an end. Unfortunately, the Rhodesians got the shaft. They had the country they worked hard to build turned into crap. I still stand by my statement. Give the locals one opportunity to come back on the taxpayers dime. After at, they have to pay their own way back. Its likely that it will get messy there sometime soon and Britons deserve a chance to come to Britain. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2007-08-17 20:41 |
| #14 Well, Mike, I can speak for those people, and I can tell you how it turned out, just as it is going to turn out for the West: Politics will win the War. Rhodesia was the first real Terrorist war, and you guys did not give a shite, gambling on who would win the elections. Still the same today. And pussies like Anonymoose draw Darwin Awards for Rhodesians, phwah. |
| Posted by: rhodesiafever 2007-08-17 19:57 |
| #13 I can't speak to how the news is in Zim, so I suppose it could be possible that the country going to hell in a handbasket just snuck up on the locals. Britain, go get thos people, but only give them one chance. They don't get to change their mind later. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2007-08-17 19:48 |
| #12 Thought you were better than taht, Tu, very cheap shot, and anny moose, get a fucking grip. These White people better than any of you. At least they fought a Terrorist war. |
| Posted by: rhodesiafever 2007-08-17 19:44 |
| #11 Good to see someone knows wtf I'm talking about, too, Shieldwolf, instead of making stupid gifs. |
| Posted by: rhodesiafever 2007-08-17 19:25 |
| #10 I think those the Brits intend to evacuate are the remaining Zimbabweans that are British passport holders - lots of families moved to Rhodesia in the 1950s, and have members who did NOT surrender their British passports to the governments of either Rhodesia or Zimbabwe. So, in the main, white settlers, Indians, and mixed race peoples are to be evacuated - the Africans who did not file the proper paperwork when they could have in the 1980s are SOL. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2007-08-17 17:39 |
| #9 Darwin looks like he's gotta take a leak. Badly... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-08-17 13:22 |
| #8 "Turn out, boys! The Tarantulas is loose!" -- Mark Twain, "Roughing It" |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-08-17 13:10 |
| #7 God, Rhodesia used to be a beautiful and properous place. Hey Africa, how's that "self rule" thingy workin' out for ya? |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2007-08-17 12:42 |
| #6 |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-08-17 11:28 |
| #5 If they've been foolish enough to stay there or go into Zim for any length of time, then perhaps they should be left there. (Yeah, I know that's not gonna happen) |
| Posted by: charger 2007-08-17 10:27 |
| #4 There should be advice only, not chartered airplanes. Oh and the advice should be "LEAVE NOW" |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2007-08-17 09:03 |
| #3 My thought exactly, RWV! The warning signs have been there for years (not days). |
| Posted by: BA 2007-08-17 09:00 |
| #2 For the life of me, I cannot imagine why there would be any Brits, let alone 22,000, still in Rhodesia. |
| Posted by: RWV 2007-08-17 08:11 |
| #1 They are just now starting to think about this?! |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-08-17 03:04 |