Word: nkomo
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...latest streak of violence is a disquieting sign that the fragile tribal coalition that turned white-ruled Rhodesia into black-governed Zimbabwe in 1980 is crumbling. On one side are Prime Minister Robert Mugabe and nearly 6 million members of the Shona tribes; opposing them are Joshua Nkomo, the rival nationalist leader, and the 1.5 million-strong Ndebeles. Mugabe supporters blame the holiday terror on diehard members of Nkomo's ZIPRA guerrilla army, which was disbanded after the nation's seven-year civil war had ended. Nkomo stoutly denies any responsibility for the rebel actions, although he does...
...camps of the Shonas. British settlers combined the hostile tribes into one nation in 1890, but the antipathy remained. During the civil war, the Shonas and Ndebeles split into rival guerrilla camps, with Mugabe's ZANLA forces based in neighboring Mozambique and aided by the Chinese, and Nkomo's ZIPRA army at headquarters in Zambia and helped by the Soviets. The rebels agreed on only the most basic goal: the replacement of Prime Minister Ian Smith's white-dominated regime by an independent black state. The leaders are stylistic opposites: Nkomo, 64, plays the outgoing but wily...
Meanwhile, the ongoing clashes between the Shonas and the Ndebeles have grown worse, especially within the new national army, which tried to meld both ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas into its ranks. Some 1,200 of Nkomo's onetime rebels have deserted the armed forces, returning to Matabeleland, homeland of the Ndebeles. The region has turned into an African version of the wild West, with former ZIPRA guerrillas roaming the countryside in small bands, murdering or kidnaping civilians, ripping up rail and power lines and robbing scores of people...
...many of the Ndebeles, increasing the tribe's hostility toward the Mugabe government. Last summer saboteurs wrecked 13 planes, about 25% of Zimbabwe's air force, while ZIPRA rebels abducted six tourists (two Americans, two British and two Australians) returning from a trip to Victoria Falls. Nkomo disavowed the crimes and traveled through Matabeleland urging the locals to aid in the hunt for the kidnaped tourists, but to no avail. There have been no negotiations with the abductors, and the fate of the foreigners remains unknown...
...believes Zimbabwe would benefit from one-party rule, although he has not tried to impose it for fear of alienating businessmen and farmers as well as foreign investors. But as provocations increase, he is under increasing pressure from members of his ruling ZANU-P.F. Party to move against Nkomo. Mugabe angrily told Parliament last week that he planned soon to announce new measures that would be "extralegal" and "extremely harsh" to stop the banditry. As Nkomo listened quietly, Mugabe warned: "These men are ZAPU and the weapons are from ZAPU." Mugabe said the government had been far too lenient...