Mystery shrouds seized Boeing

2004-03-08 23:06

Erica Gibson

Harare - A group of South African "mercenaries" were believed to be aboard a Boeing 727-100 seized by Zimbabwe at Harare International Airport.

Zimbabwe home affairs minister Kembo Mohadi said on Monday a United States-registered aircraft, carrying military equipment and 64 suspected mercenaries, had been impounded by Zimbabwe authorities on Sunday.

The men are believed to have been arrested, and the aircraft taken to Manyame airport base outside Harare.

Information about the men and the aircraft was scarce on Monday night, but intelligence sources told Beeld the aircraft was possibly on its way to West Africa.

The flight can possibly be connected with an imminent coup de etat in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.

The aircraft landed in Zimbabwe for unknown reasons, possibly due to technical problems.

According to Mohadi, the owners made false declarations about the contents of the aircraft and as to who was on board.

Reports that some are SA nationals

Mohadi said the mystery aircraft carried 64 apparent mercenaries of different nationalities, as well as military equipment and uniforms.

It is not clear where the aircraft departed from in South Africa, nor where the military equipment was obtained.

In Pretoria, meanwhile, South African deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad said: "The South African government is concerned at unconfirmed reports that some of the people on board may be South African nationals."

Pahad did not say where those reports came from.

He said, however: "Should the allegations that those South Africans on board are involved in mercenary activities prove true, this would amount to a serious breach of the Foreign Military Assistance Act which expressly prohibits the involvement of South Africans in military activities outside South Africa without the due authorisation of the national conventional arms control committee."

Chris Maroleng of the Institute of Security Studies told Beeld on Monday night the men in Harare could be held under the Zimbabwean safety and securities act for seven days.

It was reported from Washington that the plane seized by Zimbabwe at Harare was not an American aircraft - contrary to claims made by Zimbabwe's government, according to a United States state department official on Monday.

'Not carrying any US nationals'

"It's not a US plane. It is not a US-registered aircraft right now," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The state department official said the mystery aircraft had not been carrying any US nationals.

"It is not a US government nor a US commercial aircraft, as far as we know.

"I understand that, at one point back in the 1970s, someone may have owned it in the US, but it hasn't been a US aircraft since the early 80s," said the official. - Sapa-AFP

- Beeld