BREAKING: Zimbabwe army chief warns Mugabe's party after VP sacked

Harare - Zimbabwe's army chief on Monday demanded a "stop" to the purge in the ruling Zanu-PF party after the sacking of vice president Emmerson Mnangangwa, and warned the military could intervene.

"The current purging which is clearly targetting members of the party with a liberation background must stop forthwith," General Constantino Chiwenga told a media conference attended by about 90 senior army officers at army HQ.

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Allies 'dump' exiled former Zim VP Mnangagwa's camp - report



Harare – Zimbabwean ex-vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa's allies in both the ruling Zanu-PF party and government have reportedly dumped his camp "to save their political skin after President Robert Mugabe last week gave the greenlight for the massive purge".

Reports last week said that several Zanu-PF top officials from Manicaland who supported Mnangagwa could be booted out after the Provincial Co-ordination Committee (PCC) recommended their expulsion.

The PCC chaired by Energy Minister Samuel Undenge, recommended that Mnangagwa's allies be dealt with "with immediate effect".

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Is Zimbabwe set for a Mugabe dynasty with First Lady Grace as VP?



Harare - A flurry of party endorsements and parades in honour of Grace Mugabe, Zimbabwe's first lady, could mark the stirrings of a national political dynasty for the Mugabes, as structures within the ruling Zanu PF endorse Grace as a potential candidate for the vice presidency following Monday's dismissal of former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

All the party's provinces have rallied around the 52-year-old for the vice presidency, with her strongest support coming from the Zanu PF women's league which she leads and the youth league.

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Six kidnapped cargo crewmen freed in southern Nigeria



Lagos - Six members of a cargo ship kidnapped last month off the coast of Nigeria's Port Harcourt have been freed, their German employer said Sunday.

"Peter Doehle Schiffahrts-KG are pleased to report that the six crew members of her container vessel Demeter who were taken hostage on October 21 and have spent the past two and a half weeks in captivity, were released and are now safe," the Hamburg-based group said in a statement to AFP.

"Peter Doehle Schiffahrts-KG wishes to thank all the relevant authorities for helping to secure the release of our much valued seafarers," added the statement, which did not elaborate on the rescue mission.

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UPDATE: At least 33 killed, others burned as DRC train carrying fuel derails



Lubumbashi - Up to 33 people were feared dead Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a freight train carrying fuel plunged into a ravine.

The UN's radio Okapi said there had been 33 fatalities with an unknown number of others injured or burned in the accident in the province of Lualaba.

Jean-Marie Tshizainga, the minister of mines of Lualaba province gave a toll of eight dead and several others injured.

"The toll could be significantly higher," he told AFP.

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US carries out 3 drone strikes against extremists in Somalia



Mogadishu - US forces say they have carried out three drone strikes within 24 hours in Somalia, stepping up their campaign against the Islamic extremist rebels of al-Shabaab and the Islamic State group.

The strikes by unmanned drones killed several extremist fighters, a spokeswoman for the US military command in Africa told The Associated Press Sunday. With these three attacks, the U.S. has now carried out 26 attacks in Somalia against extremist targets in 2017, she said.

The latest US strikes were carried out in coordination with Somalia's government, she said.

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Attacks in CAR capital leave 7 dead, over 20 injured



Bangui - Four people were killed and over 20 wounded when grenades were thrown into a concert in the capital of the chronically unstable Central African Republic, while revenge attacks later left another three people dead, the UN peacekeeping force and a local official said Sunday.

In the first serious incident of violence in Bangui this year, the assault late Saturday saw two unidentified attackers hurl grenades at a cafe called "On the Crossroads of Peace" during a performance, said Herve Verhoosel, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force MINUSCA.

CAR's minister for public security, Henri Wanzet, told state radio that four people had died in the attack and around 20 were injured. An official probe has been opened, Wanzet said.

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