Zimbabwe's Air Force chief survives gun attack

Zimbabwe's Air Force chief survives gun attack

ATTACK: Air Force Commander Perence Shiri (centre) survived assasination attempt

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Posted to the web: 15/12/2008 17:07:41
ZIMBABWE’S Air Force Commander Air Marshal Perence Shiri survived at attempt on his life on Saturday night, New Zimbabwe.com has learnt.

Shiri was hospitalised after suffering a gunshot wound to his arm, a senior official from Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu PF party has confirmed to this website.

Shiri, driving alone in his official car, is said to have been leaving his farm in Mashonaland West Province on Saturday night when he was ambushed.

“He came under fire from a sizeable number of professional hitmen. He survived the attack, although he was shot on the arm,” the official said, speaking on condition he is not named.

The military has been placed on high alert and security boosted around the country’s top military brass following the attack.

Military intelligence investigators, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and police are all said to be involved in the investigation to track down the attackers and establish a motive.

“They are pursuing three lines of enquiry: was it an assassination attempt by outsiders seeking to destabilise the country; was it part of the internal struggles for power within the party (Zanu PF) or was it a private quarrel? All these are under consideration at this point,” the official said.

New Zimbabwe.com understands that the state-run Herald newspaper and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s Newsnet came close to running a story on the attack late Sunday after police confirmed they were investigating an incident only to be told to hold back.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said Monday that it feared President Robert Mugabe was primed to declare a state of emergency following claims that it had trained bandits in neighbouring Botswana and was preparing for “war”.

The attack on Shiri will heighten tensions, coming as it does only a fortnight after the death of Zanu PF political commissar Elliot Manyika in a suspicious road accident. Manyika’s family maintains that he was murdered in internecine Zanu PF battles for political power.

No comment was immediately available from the army spokesman late Monday.
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