ZIMBABWE'S AIR force chief reportedly survived an assassination attempt last Saturday by gunmen who shot at him as he drove to his rural farm, according to state-run media yesterday.
The attempted murder of Perrance Shiri, one of Robert Mugabe's closest advisers, was an example of a new terror campaign being waged to overthrow President Mugabe's regime, home affairs minister Kembo Mohadi told the state-run Herald newspaper.
"The attack on Air Marshal Shiri appears to be a build-up of terror attacks targeting high-profile persons, government officials, government establishments and public transportation systems," said the minister.
The shooting of Mr Shiri, who was hit in the arm but is in a stable condition, comes in the wake of a series of bomb attacks last year on police stations in Harare and a bridge outside the capital, according to the newspaper.
Mr Shiri is a former guerrilla leader who fought with Mr Mugabe to liberate Zimbabwe from colonialism in the 1970s.
However, he stands accused of orchestrating the deaths of up to 20,000 civilians when he commanded a government force that crushed an armed rebellion against Mr Mugabe in Zimbabwe's western Matabeland province in the mid-1980s.
News of the alleged attempted murder comes a day after Zimbabwe accused Botswana's government of giving military training to supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in camps located within its boarders. Botswana and the MDC have denied the allegations.
The MDC said Mr Mugabe's regime was using the fictitious threat of illegal regime change as an excuse to institute a state of emergency to retain power.
Botswana's foreign ministry said the allegations were "nothing more than distorted and/or concocted evidence, none of which is supported by facts".
Meanwhile, the United Nations has reported that the death toll from the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe is approaching 1,000, with 18,413 people having been infected by the water-borne disease.
Despite the spread of the disease into neighbouring countries, diplomats said that South Africa had blocked a bid by the US to have the UN Security Council adopt a statement condemning Mr Mugabe for not protecting his people.