BRITAIN/ZIMBABWE: The British government yesterday played down a report that it was drawing up plans to airlift more than 25,000 British passport holders from its former colony Zimbabwe, where political violence and a clampdown against the opposition and media continues ahead of presidential elections, the Sunday Telegraph said.
The paper said the Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, last month ordered an emergency planning committee to finalise plans for a mass evacuation from the southern African country.
Responding to the newspaper report, the Foreign Office said it was "routine" for overseas staff to have contingency plans to help British citizens in the event of an emergency. "This does not mean we are actively or immediately preparing to evacuate British citizens in Zimbabwe," a spokeswoman said.
The Nigerian President, Mr Olusegun Obasanjo, left yesterday for a brief visit to Zimbabwe during which he is expected to hold talks with President Robert Mugabe.
The talks are expected to focus on land reforms and concerns over the political situation in the country ahead of presidential elections due in March, officials said.
Meanwhile, in the southern city of Bulawayo 18 people were injured after pro-government militants violently stopped an opposition rally from going ahead, the opposition said.