Angola Sends 2500 Ninjas To Zimbabwe

[matcom]

<snip>

Angola is sending 2500 of its feared paramilitary police to Zimbabwe, raising concerns of an escalation in violence against President Robert Mugabe's opponents, it was reported today.

Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi confirmed the imminent arrival of the Angolans, Britain's The Times reported today.

He said 1000 Angolans were expected on April 1, with the rest to follow in groups of 500.

Angola is regarded as the most powerful military nation in Africa, after South Africa.

Mohadi said he had signed an agreement for the deployment of the Angolan paramilitaries with General Roberto Monteiro, the Interior Minister of Angola, last week, The Times reported.

"We signed a memorandum of cooperation last Thursday and it is meant to ensure public order and security for both our peoples and the whole southern African region," he said.

The police would be on "an exchange program", he said.

"We have done that in the past, and it is not something new."

But police sources who asked not to be named told The Times that previous training exchange programs with southern African countries had involved only small numbers of officers at a time.

This was the first time there has been such a large group, one source said.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/angola-sends-2500-ninjas-to-zimbabwe/2007/03/22/1174153239326.html