- HANGING TREEE: Where British settlers hung nine Ndebele warriors more than 100 years ago at the height of the Umvukela (Matabeleland uprisings) in 1896-7, along JMN Nkomo Street between Connaught Avenue and Masotsha Ndlovu Avenue, is a national monument as it symbolises both subjugation and resistance to colonialism by the Zimabwe’s citizens.
- 300 Cowdray Park opposition members mostly defectors from MDC-Alliance joined Zanu-PF during yesterday’s meeting
- Borrowdale road and Harare Drive traffic lights hit-and-run driver arrested after a recording of the incident went viral on social media.
- Financial institutions have grouped under the Bankers Association and resolved not to accept the state-issued 99-year farm leases.
- OPPOSITION party Zapu says it will this week write to Parliament seeking to recall its former members, who are now part of the ruling Zanu-PF.
1400 S.African soldiers ‘held hostage’ in Sudan to secure Al-Bashir safe return
The Sudanese government of president Omar al-Bashir literally held a gun to South Africa’s head to secure his safe return to Khartoum.
Netwerk24 revealed that about 1 400 South African soldiers in Darfur were held “hostage” by Sudanese troops when the drama around Al-Bashir’s possible arrest in South Africa escalated.
According to military experts, this effectively means Sudan blackmailed South Africa and the soldiers’ lives served as a guarantee for Al-Bashir’s safe return.
Only after Al-Bashir safely touched down in Khartoum on Monday, were Sudanese troops withdrawn. President Jacob Zuma is the commander-in-chief of the defence force.
‘So scared’
“We were so scared – we were surrounded by soldiers. We handed out extra ammunition to all our troops in case they needed it,” said one South African soldier in Sudan on Tuesday.
The deployment of Sudanese troops and threats against South Africa started shortly after Al-Bashir left for the African Union summit in Sandton, Johannesburg. He arrived on Saturday night. Heavily armed Sudanese soldiers surrounded military bases in Kutum, Mellit, and Malha. South African troops were placed in a state of combat readiness.
“Vehicles approached our bases and the commander placed us on Stage 2 of readiness,” said another soldier. This meant all troops had to be in combat gear, fully armed, and positioned in bunkers and against embankments.
Another soldier said if the situation got out of hand, “we would have had to surrender to save our lives, because you can’t fight a country’s army with a poorly equipped battalion”.
Source: Netwerk24