Zimbabwe 'Hit List' Sparks Unease

Both sides claim 'memo' is part of dangerous power play
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 6, 2008 7:00 AM CDT
Zimbabwe 'Hit List' Sparks Unease
A Zimbabwean man reads a copy of a newspaper in Harare, Sunday, April, 6, 2008. President Robert Mugabe's ruling party is demanding a vote recount and a further delay to announcing the results of Zimbabwe's presidential election, the state Sunday Mail newspaper reported, prompting outrage from the opposition...   (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

The Zimbabwe opposition denied responsibility yesterday for a "hit list" that is circulating in Harare, saying President Robert Mugabe created it to incite panic. The memo,
which lists officials to be purged, cropped up as opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was assuring military and intelligence leaders that his transition into the presidential office would not include retribution.

"We don't have any documents targeting individuals," said an opposition spokesman. "We carry no machetes, nor any hammers to target any individuals." Results of the presidential election are not yet released, and Mugabe has called for a runoff. But Tsvangirai, who has already claimed victory, calls a runoff unnecessary, and charged yesterday that Mugabe's regime was preparing to mobilize armed militias to intimidate voters. (More Robert Mugabe stories.)

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