免费日韩片_欧美成人精品一区二区男人小说_国产乱码一区二区三区四区_国产精品国产三级国产aⅴ入口_成人看的污污超级黄网站免费_欧美一级在线免费观看_成人午夜免费无码福利片_国产乱人伦偷精品视频色欲_aaa少妇高潮大片免费看_国产精品1234_亚洲精品国产suv一区88_中文字字幕在线中文无码_精品亚洲区_午夜九九九_国产av国片精品jk制服丝袜_色综合亚洲_亚洲成av人片无码bt种子下载_欧美色就色_精品少妇的一区二区三区四区_男人用嘴添女人下身免费视频

  Home>News Center>World
         
 

Zimbabwe seizes US plane
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-09 09:33

Zimbabwean authorities have seized a U.S.-registered cargo plane carrying 64 "suspected mercenaries" and military equipment, the Home Affairs minister said Monday.

The Boeing 727-100 was detained at Harare's main airport late Sunday after its owners allegedly made "a false declaration of its cargo and crew," Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi said at a news briefing.

"The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities," Mohadi said. "Further investigations also revealed that on board was military material."

It was not immediately clear where the plane had come from, or what its purpose was.

Mohadi gave no further information, but said full details would be released once officials have established "the true identities of the men and their ultimate mission."

State-run TV broadcast footage of a white plane with the tail number N4610. Inside the aircraft, the station showed two satellite telephones, radios, blue backpacks, sleeping bags, hiking boots, an inflatable raft, paddles, bolt cutters and what appeared to be a can of Mace.

No weapons were shown, but the station said officials were still going through the cargo section.

Western journalists were not shown the plane, which Mohadi said had been moved to the nearby Manyame military airfield, and the government's claims could not be independently verified.

Passengers and crew, all of them "heavily built males" and most of them white, were also taken to the base, where a detention barracks is located, state television reported.

The plane is registered to Dodson Aviation Inc. of Ottawa, Kan. However, company director Robert Dodson said it had sold the aircraft about a week ago to a "reputable" South African company, Logo Ltd.

"I think they were going to use it for charter flights," he said by telephone.

There was no reply at the Pretoria-based company.

U.S. Embassy officials said the Zimbabwean government had not raised the issue with them.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said he was aware of the reports but added: "We have no indication this aircraft is connected to the U.S. government."

President Robert Mugabe has repeatedly accused the United States and Britain of plotting to overthrow his autocratic regime.

In 1999, three American missionaries were arrested at Harare International Airport trying to board a homeward Swissair flight with a stockpile of more than 20 rifles and handguns in their baggage.

Accused of plotting to assassinate Mugabe, the three were jailed for eight months. They said the arms were for self-defense during three years of work among converts in war-torn Congo.

Zimbabwe faces its worst political and economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980. The government's often-violent seizure of thousands of white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks has plunged the country into turmoil.

 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Top legislators consider amending constitution

 

   
 

Monitoring on foreign banks stepped up

 

   
 

Lee lets US Senate act as if HK was 51st state

 

   
 

Iraqi politicians sign interim constitution

 

   
 

China takes lead in SARS vaccine trials

 

   
 

US election: Kerry ready for another recount

 

   
  Iraqi politicians sign interim constitution
   
  Haiti's interim president sworn in
   
  Zimbabwe seizes US plane
   
  Possible sighting of Beagle probe
   
  Top Iraq nuke scientist seeks UN probe
   
  Claim of Blair-guru relationship draws Downing Street snub
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2003  
Advertisement