Zimbabwean police on Thursday fired teargas and water cannon to disperse
hundreds of war veterans planning a march on the ruling party's headquarters,
witnesses said, as factions tussle over who should succeed President Robert
Mugabe.
War veterans have previously mobilised election support for Mugabe, a
fellow veteran who turns 92 on Sunday, but they have publicly criticised a
group in the ruling ZANU-PF party led by Mugabe's wife Grace which has been
dubbed G-40 by local media.
Though Grace Mugabe has said she has no ambitions to run for president,
experts believe she is a leading candidate to succeed her husband, with Vice
President Emmerson Mnangagwa also a likely frontrunner and part of a rival
Zanu-PF faction.
Witnesses saw police fire teargas and chase war veterans from a sports
centre outside Harare's central business district, breaking them into small
groups at a nearby open ground.
Police were seen spraying the
groups with water cannon. Dozens of armed police kept watch at the ZANU-PF
offices.
The veterans who fought in the war that led to independence from Britain
in 1980 have been angered by what they call disrespectful comments by Grace
Mugabe and her G-40 allies.
They say she and her allies do not have support within the ruling party
but are using their proximity to Mugabe to manipulate him.
However, for all the talk of succession, Mugabe shows no intention of
stepping down, despite being Africa's oldest leader and the only president
Zimbabwe has known since independence.
The G-40 has attempted to fire some leaders in the Zimbabwe National
Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA). In turn, the ZNLWVA has affirmed
support for its leaders and branded the G-40 group
"counter-revolutionaries".