It has educated many players who have become regulars in the Bundesliga.

(meta data) TITLE: The Bayern Munich Academy Way

(meta data) PUBLISHER: https://www.facebook.com/TheseFootballTimes

For one club, ascendency includes 27 domestic league titles, 18 DFB-Pokal titles and six German Super Cup titles.

But in what form does dominance reveal itself?

Five European Cups, one UEFA Cup, one Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, two Intercontinental Cups and one Club World Cup.

Bayern, long one of German and world football's goliaths, has entered a phase of unprecedented success in domestic and continental football, and as a global brand.

The Bavarian giants share a common modus operandi with the world's elite football clubs – and then some.

For a club so synonymous with German footballing lore, Bayern Munich the club literally embodies football development.

In 1963, when the regional Oberligas combined and consolidated to form the Bundesliga, Bayern were not among the five teams from the Oberliga Süd (Oberliga South) to enter the Bundesliga as another Munich team.

TSV 1860 München, captured the championship.

A mere two years later, in 1963, they gained promotion with some exceptional young players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Peter Kupferschmidt, Rainer Ohlhauser, Rudolf Nafziger and Sepp Maier.

Excellence is no accident and Bayern Munich has set the standard in total player development.

It comes as no surprise that Bayern, a club that boasts a rich history of success on the field at the senior level, understands the intricacies of building from the ground-up.

The development that takes place at the Säbener Strasse youth academy extends far beyond football drills.

At any given time, the Bayern academy has approximately 170-190 players in the youth program.

A club that has produced the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Markus Babbel, Holger Badstuber, Dietmar Hamann, Philipp Lahm, Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Emre Can and David Alaba champions its cause to be the most successful club domestically whilst providing the bulk of the talent in the national side ranks at every age group.

Matthias Sammer, former sporting director at Bayern, understands the reality of the global game: "In football, it's not about egos, it's about success.

Based on my experience, German football needs to grasp very quickly that we simply cannot use a standard approach when it comes to dealing with players."

Bayern Munich's philosophy typifies qualities like excellence, perfection, attention to detail, unity, diversity and innovation.

The club motto, Mia san Mia, translates to 'We are who we are' and in football there is perhaps no greater truth.

Teams, players and coaches are defined by style but ultimately remembered by results.

Bayern's dominance starts from the groundwork at the academy.

In 1995, Karl-Heinz Rumminegge and Uli Hoeness set out to restructure the standard of football played at Bayern Munich and in doing so came to the prophetic realisation that the best academies in the world train their core players instead of just buying new ones.

Tharealisationon accomplished two defining principles that have both allowed Bayern to not only rise to the top, but stay there as well.

The first concept was fiscal responsibility.

It simply makes better business sense to develop talent rather than depend on development schemes and systems from other clubs to create a player that fit the club's needs.

Secondly, Die Roten realised that to dominate domestic and European football, it needed players who were groomed to be technically and tactically adept while playing the Bayern Munich way; it means living and breathing the club's tradition, philosophy, and mentality on and off the pitch.

The new era of youth development at Bayern is the culmination of some of the best coaches, technical directors, and players in German football.

In the early-2000s, when German football hit rock bottom and revamped its national program and initiative, Bayern Munich's director of youth football, Werner Kern, was not shy in vision for building establishing one of the best football academies in the world: "In order to establish the best football education it must have the best of everything: the best coaches, the best team environment, the best age-oriented challenges, the best training conditions and equipment."

It should be duly noted that Germany's ascension to the pinnacle of the game coincides with the Bayern Munich's revamped system.

Such visions into total football development mirror those of other football clubs noted for their unique and successful methodology for player development like Ajax and Barcelona.

At Bayern, players are scouted first in the region surrounding Munich and then in the rest of the southern portion of the country.

The goal is to attract and retain local talent before the search is extended.

The club also uses Talent Day, a mass weekend tryout for admission into the academy.

Evaluations are rigorous, involving 500 players from all over Germany and the world; seven players from that group will make it to the Bayern Munich Junior Team.

Current manager of the Bayern Munich junior team, Wolfgang Dremmler – another former Bayern star – asks the pertinent questions and details the procedure for such an event: "Does the boy put his heart and soul into his football?

How good is his movement, how are his skills in terms of coordination?

It's quite easy to recognize things like that.

You see it during the games, exactly how a boy conducts himself and the energy he puts in.

"We don't specifically test any technical skills – no one has to go dribbling through cones.

We just let the kids play, with or without a goalkeeper, without a dead-ball line – just like it is in the streets.

There is nothing to win and there are no trophies to hand out.

Fun, emotion and desire are the only things that matter."

Players in the academy play age-appropriate football.

The youngest groups, under-7 to under-10, play on condensed pitches in seven-a-side formations.

Goalkeepers are made to play in small-sided matches to increase their technical proficiency and confidence with the ball at their feet.

To create complete players, youngsters are made to play a variety of positions while learning the fundamentals of the game well before any tactical implementation takes place.

At this level, teams often set up in a 2-3-1-1 formation.

At Bayern, the belief is a player must be able to play well enough without tactical rigidity if he has any hope of playing within a tactical framework.

At the under-12 level, 11-v-11 is played and the sides deploy a 4-3-3 formation.

At the under-15 level, players who live far from the training ground will join residency.

During residency at Säbener Strasse, players continue their formal academic education and have access to the physiotherapists, doctors, staff, and other teams within the club structure.

At this level, the players will continue to play the type of football expected of them from the senior team and as a result, this is the transitioning point where development goes from bottom-up to top-down.

Players must look to play possession-based football and constant movement and is the standard.

The barometer for quality is seldom the scoreline, but rather the style and fluidity of the football on display.

Efficiency is trained into the players to eliminate needless and reckless running.

The team operates as unit as players understand their role is to serve the team over themselves.

Passes are counted, consistent with the modern belief that 10 to 15 passes must be made to start an attack from the back through the midfield.

Ball circulation has become a staple of Bayern Munich's football and possession is the team's best form of defence and attack.

When the ball is lost, the team presses to recover possession and begins circulating the ball and probing for attacking opportunities.

Training is age-specific but the competition for the young sides is often against older teams to provide a comprehensive and challenging competitive environment for players in Bayern's youth system to compete against each year.

Another aspect is the hyper-organization the club uses to categorize players in a multitude of competencies.

Players are identified as leaders, role players (who can play a variety of positions with proficiency), and squad players.

Part of the categorising exercise is to assess the targeted growth plans for each age division, each position, and as an individual – all while using one system of play consistent with senior team so there are no surprises when players are integrated into the first team.

The three-pronged approach ensures complete and holistic development.

A player who falls short of being able to excel in his development will likely not succeed at Bayern, however that player will be successful elsewhere, which is a success for the club, too.

It does neither the club nor the player any good to be retained if the player will not play.

This meticulous approach also guarantees players are part of the machine.

Players fit the system; the system does not fit the player.

As such, individualized coaching is provided for each player as they are ultimately investments.

Coaches analyze character, footballing ability, capacity to learn complex systems of play, growth potential, the ability to handle difficulty while absorbing skills, honing technique, and maximizing a player's mental and athletic output.

Part of the evaluation process is personality testing where players are assessed in areas including confidence, sensitivity, arrogance and humility.

To succeed at Bayern Munich, players must balance the pressure of playing for the Bavarian giants while performing under the scrutiny that comes with being a part of one of world football's giant clubs.

On the footballing front, the education Bayern instils in its players revolves around versatility, intelligence, technical and physical dominance on the pitch.

Players have access to the senior team's training session and see how the players under Pep Guardiola's tutelage operate and carry themselves.

The intention is to show them what the finished product looks like.

Youth players often join the senior team in training camps.

"They need to take a chance, don't be scared and go for it.

They've got fully involved, they're improving day-by-day and have integrated really well.

Integration on its own isn't enough to make it.

You've got to do more as a young player."

The approach is certainly working at Germany's premier football club.

###### How Getafe went from the depths of the Segunda to the Europa League

###### The unique bond between Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta: from Spain's streets to Mersey masters

###### Gusztáv Sebes: the pioneering brain behind Hungary's Magical Magyars

###### The decline of Napoli post-Maradona: from Paradiso to Inferno

###### How 15 years of bizarre owners at Servette FC has finally given way to hope

Join our mailing list and never miss a magazine launch, online series or offer

The FC Bayern Munich Junior Team is the youth academy for German football club Bayern Munich. The Junior Team was created in 1902 and restructured in 1995.


It has educated many players who have become regulars in Germany.

(meta data) TITLE: The Bayern Munich Academy Way

(meta data) PUBLISHER: https://www.facebook.com/TheseFootballTimes

For one club, ascendency includes 27 domestic league titles, 18 DFB-Pokal titles and six German Super Cup titles.

But in what form does dominance reveal itself?

Five European Cups, one UEFA Cup, one Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, two Intercontinental Cups and one Club World Cup.

Bayern, long one of German and world football's goliaths, has entered a phase of unprecedented success in domestic and continental football, and as a global brand.

The Bavarian giants share a common modus operandi with the world's elite football clubs – and then some.

For a club so synonymous with German footballing lore, Bayern Munich the club literally embodies football development.

In 1963, when the regional Oberligas combined and consolidated to form the Bundesliga, Bayern were not among the five teams from the Oberliga Süd (Oberliga South) to enter the Bundesliga as another Munich team.

TSV 1860 München, captured the championship.

A mere two years later, in 1963, they gained promotion with some exceptional young players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Peter Kupferschmidt, Rainer Ohlhauser, Rudolf Nafziger and Sepp Maier.

Excellence is no accident and Bayern Munich has set the standard in total player development.

It comes as no surprise that Bayern, a club that boasts a rich history of success on the field at the senior level, understands the intricacies of building from the ground-up.

The development that takes place at the Säbener Strasse youth academy extends far beyond football drills.

At any given time, the Bayern academy has approximately 170-190 players in the youth program.

A club that has produced the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Markus Babbel, Holger Badstuber, Dietmar Hamann, Philipp Lahm, Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Emre Can and David Alaba champions its cause to be the most successful club domestically whilst providing the bulk of the talent in the national side ranks at every age group.

Matthias Sammer, former sporting director at Bayern, understands the reality of the global game: "In football, it's not about egos, it's about success.

Based on my experience, German football needs to grasp very quickly that we simply cannot use a standard approach when it comes to dealing with players."

Bayern Munich's philosophy typifies qualities like excellence, perfection, attention to detail, unity, diversity and innovation.

The club motto, Mia san Mia, translates to 'We are who we are' and in football there is perhaps no greater truth.

Teams, players and coaches are defined by style but ultimately remembered by results.

Bayern's dominance starts from the groundwork at the academy.

In 1995, Karl-Heinz Rumminegge and Uli Hoeness set out to restructure the standard of football played at Bayern Munich and in doing so came to the prophetic realisation that the best academies in the world train their core players instead of just buying new ones.

Tharealisationon accomplished two defining principles that have both allowed Bayern to not only rise to the top, but stay there as well.

The first concept was fiscal responsibility.

It simply makes better business sense to develop talent rather than depend on development schemes and systems from other clubs to create a player that fit the club's needs.

Secondly, Die Roten realised that to dominate domestic and European football, it needed players who were groomed to be technically and tactically adept while playing the Bayern Munich way; it means living and breathing the club's tradition, philosophy, and mentality on and off the pitch.

The new era of youth development at Bayern is the culmination of some of the best coaches, technical directors, and players in German football.

In the early-2000s, when German football hit rock bottom and revamped its national program and initiative, Bayern Munich's director of youth football, Werner Kern, was not shy in vision for building establishing one of the best football academies in the world: "In order to establish the best football education it must have the best of everything: the best coaches, the best team environment, the best age-oriented challenges, the best training conditions and equipment."

It should be duly noted that Germany's ascension to the pinnacle of the game coincides with the Bayern Munich's revamped system.

Such visions into total football development mirror those of other football clubs noted for their unique and successful methodology for player development like Ajax and Barcelona.

At Bayern, players are scouted first in the region surrounding Munich and then in the rest of the southern portion of the country.

The goal is to attract and retain local talent before the search is extended.

The club also uses Talent Day, a mass weekend tryout for admission into the academy.

Evaluations are rigorous, involving 500 players from all over Germany and the world; seven players from that group will make it to the Bayern Munich Junior Team.

Current manager of the Bayern Munich junior team, Wolfgang Dremmler – another former Bayern star – asks the pertinent questions and details the procedure for such an event: "Does the boy put his heart and soul into his football?

How good is his movement, how are his skills in terms of coordination?

It's quite easy to recognize things like that.

You see it during the games, exactly how a boy conducts himself and the energy he puts in.

"We don't specifically test any technical skills – no one has to go dribbling through cones.

We just let the kids play, with or without a goalkeeper, without a dead-ball line – just like it is in the streets.

There is nothing to win and there are no trophies to hand out.

Fun, emotion and desire are the only things that matter."

Players in the academy play age-appropriate football.

The youngest groups, under-7 to under-10, play on condensed pitches in seven-a-side formations.

Goalkeepers are made to play in small-sided matches to increase their technical proficiency and confidence with the ball at their feet.

To create complete players, youngsters are made to play a variety of positions while learning the fundamentals of the game well before any tactical implementation takes place.

At this level, teams often set up in a 2-3-1-1 formation.

At Bayern, the belief is a player must be able to play well enough without tactical rigidity if he has any hope of playing within a tactical framework.

At the under-12 level, 11-v-11 is played and the sides deploy a 4-3-3 formation.

At the under-15 level, players who live far from the training ground will join residency.

During residency at Säbener Strasse, players continue their formal academic education and have access to the physiotherapists, doctors, staff, and other teams within the club structure.

At this level, the players will continue to play the type of football expected of them from the senior team and as a result, this is the transitioning point where development goes from bottom-up to top-down.

Players must look to play possession-based football and constant movement and is the standard.

The barometer for quality is seldom the scoreline, but rather the style and fluidity of the football on display.

Efficiency is trained into the players to eliminate needless and reckless running.

The team operates as unit as players understand their role is to serve the team over themselves.

Passes are counted, consistent with the modern belief that 10 to 15 passes must be made to start an attack from the back through the midfield.

Ball circulation has become a staple of Bayern Munich's football and possession is the team's best form of defence and attack.

When the ball is lost, the team presses to recover possession and begins circulating the ball and probing for attacking opportunities.

Training is age-specific but the competition for the young sides is often against older teams to provide a comprehensive and challenging competitive environment for players in Bayern's youth system to compete against each year.

Another aspect is the hyper-organization the club uses to categorize players in a multitude of competencies.

Players are identified as leaders, role players (who can play a variety of positions with proficiency), and squad players.

Part of the categorising exercise is to assess the targeted growth plans for each age division, each position, and as an individual – all while using one system of play consistent with senior team so there are no surprises when players are integrated into the first team.

The three-pronged approach ensures complete and holistic development.

A player who falls short of being able to excel in his development will likely not succeed at Bayern, however that player will be successful elsewhere, which is a success for the club, too.

It does neither the club nor the player any good to be retained if the player will not play.

This meticulous approach also guarantees players are part of the machine.

Players fit the system; the system does not fit the player.

As such, individualized coaching is provided for each player as they are ultimately investments.

Coaches analyze character, footballing ability, capacity to learn complex systems of play, growth potential, the ability to handle difficulty while absorbing skills, honing technique, and maximizing a player's mental and athletic output.

Part of the evaluation process is personality testing where players are assessed in areas including confidence, sensitivity, arrogance and humility.

To succeed at Bayern Munich, players must balance the pressure of playing for the Bavarian giants while performing under the scrutiny that comes with being a part of one of world football's giant clubs.

On the footballing front, the education Bayern instils in its players revolves around versatility, intelligence, technical and physical dominance on the pitch.

Players have access to the senior team's training session and see how the players under Pep Guardiola's tutelage operate and carry themselves.

The intention is to show them what the finished product looks like.

Youth players often join the senior team in training camps.

"They need to take a chance, don't be scared and go for it.

They've got fully involved, they're improving day-by-day and have integrated really well.

Integration on its own isn't enough to make it.

You've got to do more as a young player."

The approach is certainly working at Germany's premier football club.

###### How Getafe went from the depths of the Segunda to the Europa League

###### The unique bond between Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta: from Spain's streets to Mersey masters

###### Gusztáv Sebes: the pioneering brain behind Hungary's Magical Magyars

###### The decline of Napoli post-Maradona: from Paradiso to Inferno

###### How 15 years of bizarre owners at Servette FC has finally given way to hope

Join our mailing list and never miss a magazine launch, online series or offer

The FC Bayern Munich Junior Team is the youth academy for German football club Bayern Munich. The Junior Team was created in 1902 and restructured in 1995. It has educated many players who have become regulars in the Bundesliga.


The next day, the ZDF issued a statement.

(meta data) TITLE: Military urges calm in Zimbabwe after it seizes key sites in capital | World news | The Guardian

(meta data) AUTHOR: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jasonburke

(meta data) PUBLISHER: https://www.facebook.com/theguardian

(meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2017-11-14T13:29:40-0500

Available for everyone, funded by readers

# Military urges calm in Zimbabwe after it seizes key sites in capital

Military spokesman says President Robert Mugabe and his family were 'safe and sound and their security is guaranteed'

Jason Burke Africa correspondent and a correspondent in Harare

First published on Tue 14 Nov 2017 13.29 EST

Soldiers stand beside military vehicles just outside Harare

The military in Zimbabwe says it has temporarily taken control of the country to "target criminals" around the president, Robert Mugabe, amid high tension and reports of explosions in Harare.

Soldiers have sealed access to parliament, government offices and courts in the capital, residents said.

Access to the president's official residence was also blocked by troops.

## Zimbabwe army denies coup against Mugabe as it takes control of Harare – live

A military spokesman, Maj Gen SB Moyo made an announcement on state television early on Wednesday saying Mugabe and his family were "safe and sound and their security is guaranteed".

Troops had seized the network's offices late on Tuesday night.

Moyo said the army was targeting "criminals around" Mugabe, who were "committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in order to bring them to justice".

The takeover comes amid a bitter battle over who will succeed 93-year-old Mugabe.

Mugabe is 'safe and sound' Zimbabwe's army says – video

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the veteran vice-president and former spy chief who has strong support among many in Zimbabwe's armed forces, was unceremoniously fired last week.

The move opened the road to power open to Grace Mugabe, the president's 53-year-old wife, and a rival faction within the ruling Zanu-PF party.

The finance minister, Ignatius Chombo, a member of Grace Mugabe's G40, was reportedly among those detained by the military.

#### Who is Grace Mugabe and why is she controversial?

Grace Mugabe is the 52-year-old first lady of Zimbabwe.

Born in South Africa, she married Robert Mugabe, 40 years her senior, in 1996.

Initially struggling to emerge from the shadows of the president's popular first wife, Sally, who died in 1992, Mugabe appeared by her husband's side for official functions but rarely got involved in politics herself, focusing publicly on her charity work while gaining a reputation for legendary shopping expeditions.

In 2009 a British photographer alleged that she punched him repeatedly in the face when he tried to take a picture of her in Hong Kong.

She has since been implicated in several incidents outside Zimbabwe: in Singapore, in Malaysia and most recently in South Africa, where she allegedly assaulted a model in August.

The unveiling of Grace Mugabe as a potential successor to her husband began in 2014, when she became head of the ruling party's women's league and the state propaganda machine began talking up her political acumen.

Before the events of 14 November her path to power had received a boost when her main rival, the vice-president , Emmerson Mnangagwa, was fired on 6 November.

The feud between Mugabe and Mnangagwa had been bitter – in October she publicly denied poisoning him after he fell ill at a rally in August.

Insisting it was not a coup, Moyo said "as soon as [the armed forces] are done the situation will come to normalcy".

"We urge you to remain calm and limit unnecessary movement.

However, we encourage those who are employed and those with essential business in the city to continue their normal activities as usual," he said.

Moyo said the army had acted because the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation had been ordered not to broadcast a statement from the military on Monday and "the situation in our country has moved to another level".

Cancelling all leave for members of the military, he urged the security forces to "cooperate for the good of our country".

He warned "any provocation will be met with an appropriate response".

There were reports of a number of loud explosions and some incidents of members of the armed forces harassing passers-by during the night.

Residents of Harare said the city was quiet on Wednesday morning, though the usually busy streets were empty.

There was no sign of any disturbance elsewhere in the country.

A witness told Agence France-Presse that gunfire had erupted near Mugabe's private residence in the suburb of Borrowdale early on Wednesday, but there was no independent confirmation of the report.

Nelson Chamisa, the deputy head of opposition MDC party, called for "peace, constitutionalism, democratisation, the rule of law and the sanctity of human life".

The US embassy in the capital tweeted out a message citing "ongoing uncertainty."

A statement later posted by the embassy told US citizens in Zimbabwe to "shelter in place until further notice".

The British embassy said that due to the "uncertain political situation" British nationals should remain at home.

Military convoys had been seen driving through the capital earlier on Tuesday, sparking rumours of a coup attempt just a day after the country's military chief – flanked by other senior officers – warned that he was prepared to "step in" to end turmoil in Zanu-PF.

Zimbabwe's government accused the head of the armed forces of "treasonable conduct" in the early evening, ratcheting up the tension.

Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe has known in 37 years of independence, spent Tuesday afternoon in a cabinet meeting, but his whereabouts overnight were unknown.

In its statement the military said they continued to recognise the president as commander in chief of the armed forces.

Mugabe's sacking of Mnangagwa came as a shock to many observers.

Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as president of Zimbabwe on 24 November, capping a dramatic few weeks that began when he was sacked as vice-president by Robert Mugabe on 6 November.

Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old former intelligence chief, had been locked in a battle with the first lady, Grace Mugabe, to succeed her husband as president.

His sacking – an attempt to clear Grace's path to power - was a tactical error that triggered a military takeover, Mugabe's impeachment by parliament, and his resignation.

Mnangagwa has strong support within the security establishment and among veterans of Zimbabwe's 1970s guerrilla war, when he earned the nickname "the crocodile".

Despite allegations about his role in atrocities in the 1980s, much of the international community had long seen him as being the most likely figure in Zimbabwe to guarantee a stable transition and implement economic reforms.

Nicknamed "the crocodile" from his time fighting in the country's liberation wars, Mnangagwa has strong support among veterans and within the security establishment that he once ran.

He had been considered the mostly likely candidate to succeed Mugabe if the president decided to step down or died in office.

Mnangagwa's sacking was widely seen as a move to pave the way for Grace Mugabe to take power instead.

It caused widespread discontent among Mnangagwa's supporters and exposed deep factional divides within Zanu-PF ranks.

On Monday, Gen Constantine Chiwenga, the head of Zimbabwe's military, called a press conference to warn that troops could intervene if long-term political allies continued to suffer.

"We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that, when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in," Chiwenga said in a statement read at a news conference packed with 90 senior officers from key units, in a show of military unity.

The statement was initially carried on state media, then removed from the airwaves, but the government was slow to respond, with no word from Mugabe himself.

After the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, however, a statement was issued by Simon Khaya-Moyo, the government spokesman and national secretary for information and publicity, accusing Chiwenga of "treasonable conduct".

"Such conduct stands unreservedly condemned not only in the party ... but also in the [region] and the entire African continent where subversion of constitutional authority is ... regarded as absolute anathema," the statement read.

Mugabe's authoritarian rule has been anchored by support from the military but the ageing leader has systematically dismissed veterans of the liberation struggle from party posts in recent years, leaving the top echelons stacked with officials who did not fight in the independence war.

War veterans broke ranks with him in 2016 and have vowed to form a broad front with the opposition to challenge his rule.

Chris Mutsvangwa, the head of the war veterans' group, told reporters in Johannesburg last week that Grace Mugabe was "a mad woman" who had won power through a "coup ... by marriage certificate".

Mutsvangwa issued a statement from Johannesburg on Wednesday praising the military for carrying out "a bloodless correction of gross abuse of power" that would return Zimbabwe to "genuine democracy."

Grace Mugabe is a deeply divisive figure in Zimbabwe with limited popular support.

She has been tarnished by an alleged assault against a model she had found with her sons in a luxury apartment in Johannesburg in September.

Granted diplomatic immunity after the incident, she was allowed to leave South Africa despite a police inquiry, and denies any wrongdoing.

Reports of extravagant purchases, including property in South Africa and a Rolls-Royce, have also angered many Zimbabweans.

Pictures of one of the first lady's sons apparently pouring most of a bottle of champagne over a luxury watch worth tens of thousands of dollars in a nightclub were shared widely on social media this week.

The crisis comes at a time when Zimbabwe faces severe economic problems.

The country is struggling to pay for imports due to a shortage of dollars, which has also caused acute cash shortages.

On the evening of 14 November 2017, elements of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) gathered around Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, and seized control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and key areas of the city.


The statement said that it was not a coup d'état.

(meta data) TITLE: Military urges calm in Zimbabwe after it seizes key sites in capital | World news | The Guardian

(meta data) AUTHOR: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jasonburke

(meta data) PUBLISHER: https://www.facebook.com/theguardian

(meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2017-11-14T13:29:40-0500

Available for everyone, funded by readers

# Military urges calm in Zimbabwe after it seizes key sites in capital

Military spokesman says President Robert Mugabe and his family were 'safe and sound and their security is guaranteed'

Jason Burke Africa correspondent and a correspondent in Harare

First published on Tue 14 Nov 2017 13.29 EST

Soldiers stand beside military vehicles just outside Harare

The military in Zimbabwe says it has temporarily taken control of the country to "target criminals" around the president, Robert Mugabe, amid high tension and reports of explosions in Harare.

Soldiers have sealed access to parliament, government offices and courts in the capital, residents said.

Access to the president's official residence was also blocked by troops.

## Zimbabwe army denies coup against Mugabe as it takes control of Harare – live

A military spokesman, Maj Gen SB Moyo made an announcement on state television early on Wednesday saying Mugabe and his family were "safe and sound and their security is guaranteed".

Troops had seized the network's offices late on Tuesday night.

Moyo said the army was targeting "criminals around" Mugabe, who were "committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in order to bring them to justice".

The takeover comes amid a bitter battle over who will succeed 93-year-old Mugabe.

Mugabe is 'safe and sound' Zimbabwe's army says – video

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the veteran vice-president and former spy chief who has strong support among many in Zimbabwe's armed forces, was unceremoniously fired last week.

The move opened the road to power open to Grace Mugabe, the president's 53-year-old wife, and a rival faction within the ruling Zanu-PF party.

The finance minister, Ignatius Chombo, a member of Grace Mugabe's G40, was reportedly among those detained by the military.

#### Who is Grace Mugabe and why is she controversial?

Grace Mugabe is the 52-year-old first lady of Zimbabwe.

Born in South Africa, she married Robert Mugabe, 40 years her senior, in 1996.

Initially struggling to emerge from the shadows of the president's popular first wife, Sally, who died in 1992, Mugabe appeared by her husband's side for official functions but rarely got involved in politics herself, focusing publicly on her charity work while gaining a reputation for legendary shopping expeditions.

In 2009 a British photographer alleged that she punched him repeatedly in the face when he tried to take a picture of her in Hong Kong.

She has since been implicated in several incidents outside Zimbabwe: in Singapore, in Malaysia and most recently in South Africa, where she allegedly assaulted a model in August.

The unveiling of Grace Mugabe as a potential successor to her husband began in 2014, when she became head of the ruling party's women's league and the state propaganda machine began talking up her political acumen.

Before the events of 14 November her path to power had received a boost when her main rival, the vice-president , Emmerson Mnangagwa, was fired on 6 November.

The feud between Mugabe and Mnangagwa had been bitter – in October she publicly denied poisoning him after he fell ill at a rally in August.

Insisting it was not a coup, Moyo said "as soon as [the armed forces] are done the situation will come to normalcy".

"We urge you to remain calm and limit unnecessary movement.

However, we encourage those who are employed and those with essential business in the city to continue their normal activities as usual," he said.

Moyo said the army had acted because the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation had been ordered not to broadcast a statement from the military on Monday and "the situation in our country has moved to another level".

Cancelling all leave for members of the military, he urged the security forces to "cooperate for the good of our country".

He warned "any provocation will be met with an appropriate response".

There were reports of a number of loud explosions and some incidents of members of the armed forces harassing passers-by during the night.

Residents of Harare said the city was quiet on Wednesday morning, though the usually busy streets were empty.

There was no sign of any disturbance elsewhere in the country.

A witness told Agence France-Presse that gunfire had erupted near Mugabe's private residence in the suburb of Borrowdale early on Wednesday, but there was no independent confirmation of the report.

Nelson Chamisa, the deputy head of opposition MDC party, called for "peace, constitutionalism, democratisation, the rule of law and the sanctity of human life".

The US embassy in the capital tweeted out a message citing "ongoing uncertainty."

A statement later posted by the embassy told US citizens in Zimbabwe to "shelter in place until further notice".

The British embassy said that due to the "uncertain political situation" British nationals should remain at home.

Military convoys had been seen driving through the capital earlier on Tuesday, sparking rumours of a coup attempt just a day after the country's military chief – flanked by other senior officers – warned that he was prepared to "step in" to end turmoil in Zanu-PF.

Zimbabwe's government accused the head of the armed forces of "treasonable conduct" in the early evening, ratcheting up the tension.

Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe has known in 37 years of independence, spent Tuesday afternoon in a cabinet meeting, but his whereabouts overnight were unknown.

In its statement the military said they continued to recognise the president as commander in chief of the armed forces.

Mugabe's sacking of Mnangagwa came as a shock to many observers.

Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as president of Zimbabwe on 24 November, capping a dramatic few weeks that began when he was sacked as vice-president by Robert Mugabe on 6 November.

Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old former intelligence chief, had been locked in a battle with the first lady, Grace Mugabe, to succeed her husband as president.

His sacking – an attempt to clear Grace's path to power - was a tactical error that triggered a military takeover, Mugabe's impeachment by parliament, and his resignation.

Mnangagwa has strong support within the security establishment and among veterans of Zimbabwe's 1970s guerrilla war, when he earned the nickname "the crocodile".

Despite allegations about his role in atrocities in the 1980s, much of the international community had long seen him as being the most likely figure in Zimbabwe to guarantee a stable transition and implement economic reforms.

Nicknamed "the crocodile" from his time fighting in the country's liberation wars, Mnangagwa has strong support among veterans and within the security establishment that he once ran.

He had been considered the mostly likely candidate to succeed Mugabe if the president decided to step down or died in office.

Mnangagwa's sacking was widely seen as a move to pave the way for Grace Mugabe to take power instead.

It caused widespread discontent among Mnangagwa's supporters and exposed deep factional divides within Zanu-PF ranks.

On Monday, Gen Constantine Chiwenga, the head of Zimbabwe's military, called a press conference to warn that troops could intervene if long-term political allies continued to suffer.

"We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that, when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in," Chiwenga said in a statement read at a news conference packed with 90 senior officers from key units, in a show of military unity.

The statement was initially carried on state media, then removed from the airwaves, but the government was slow to respond, with no word from Mugabe himself.

After the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, however, a statement was issued by Simon Khaya-Moyo, the government spokesman and national secretary for information and publicity, accusing Chiwenga of "treasonable conduct".

"Such conduct stands unreservedly condemned not only in the party ... but also in the [region] and the entire African continent where subversion of constitutional authority is ... regarded as absolute anathema," the statement read.

Mugabe's authoritarian rule has been anchored by support from the military but the ageing leader has systematically dismissed veterans of the liberation struggle from party posts in recent years, leaving the top echelons stacked with officials who did not fight in the independence war.

War veterans broke ranks with him in 2016 and have vowed to form a broad front with the opposition to challenge his rule.

Chris Mutsvangwa, the head of the war veterans' group, told reporters in Johannesburg last week that Grace Mugabe was "a mad woman" who had won power through a "coup ... by marriage certificate".

Mutsvangwa issued a statement from Johannesburg on Wednesday praising the military for carrying out "a bloodless correction of gross abuse of power" that would return Zimbabwe to "genuine democracy."

Grace Mugabe is a deeply divisive figure in Zimbabwe with limited popular support.

She has been tarnished by an alleged assault against a model she had found with her sons in a luxury apartment in Johannesburg in September.

Granted diplomatic immunity after the incident, she was allowed to leave South Africa despite a police inquiry, and denies any wrongdoing.

Reports of extravagant purchases, including property in South Africa and a Rolls-Royce, have also angered many Zimbabweans.

Pictures of one of the first lady's sons apparently pouring most of a bottle of champagne over a luxury watch worth tens of thousands of dollars in a nightclub were shared widely on social media this week.

The crisis comes at a time when Zimbabwe faces severe economic problems.

The country is struggling to pay for imports due to a shortage of dollars, which has also caused acute cash shortages.

On the evening of 14 November 2017, elements of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) gathered around Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, and seized control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and key areas of the city. The next day, the ZDF issued a statement.


The statement said that President Robert Mugabe was safe.

(meta data) TITLE: Military urges calm in Zimbabwe after it seizes key sites in capital | World news | The Guardian

(meta data) AUTHOR: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jasonburke

(meta data) PUBLISHER: https://www.facebook.com/theguardian

(meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2017-11-14T13:29:40-0500

Available for everyone, funded by readers

# Military urges calm in Zimbabwe after it seizes key sites in capital

Military spokesman says President Robert Mugabe and his family were 'safe and sound and their security is guaranteed'

Jason Burke Africa correspondent and a correspondent in Harare

First published on Tue 14 Nov 2017 13.29 EST

Soldiers stand beside military vehicles just outside Harare

The military in Zimbabwe says it has temporarily taken control of the country to "target criminals" around the president, Robert Mugabe, amid high tension and reports of explosions in Harare.

Soldiers have sealed access to parliament, government offices and courts in the capital, residents said.

Access to the president's official residence was also blocked by troops.

## Zimbabwe army denies coup against Mugabe as it takes control of Harare – live

A military spokesman, Maj Gen SB Moyo made an announcement on state television early on Wednesday saying Mugabe and his family were "safe and sound and their security is guaranteed".

Troops had seized the network's offices late on Tuesday night.

Moyo said the army was targeting "criminals around" Mugabe, who were "committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in order to bring them to justice".

The takeover comes amid a bitter battle over who will succeed 93-year-old Mugabe.

Mugabe is 'safe and sound' Zimbabwe's army says – video

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the veteran vice-president and former spy chief who has strong support among many in Zimbabwe's armed forces, was unceremoniously fired last week.

The move opened the road to power open to Grace Mugabe, the president's 53-year-old wife, and a rival faction within the ruling Zanu-PF party.

The finance minister, Ignatius Chombo, a member of Grace Mugabe's G40, was reportedly among those detained by the military.

#### Who is Grace Mugabe and why is she controversial?

Grace Mugabe is the 52-year-old first lady of Zimbabwe.

Born in South Africa, she married Robert Mugabe, 40 years her senior, in 1996.

Initially struggling to emerge from the shadows of the president's popular first wife, Sally, who died in 1992, Mugabe appeared by her husband's side for official functions but rarely got involved in politics herself, focusing publicly on her charity work while gaining a reputation for legendary shopping expeditions.

In 2009 a British photographer alleged that she punched him repeatedly in the face when he tried to take a picture of her in Hong Kong.

She has since been implicated in several incidents outside Zimbabwe: in Singapore, in Malaysia and most recently in South Africa, where she allegedly assaulted a model in August.

The unveiling of Grace Mugabe as a potential successor to her husband began in 2014, when she became head of the ruling party's women's league and the state propaganda machine began talking up her political acumen.

Before the events of 14 November her path to power had received a boost when her main rival, the vice-president , Emmerson Mnangagwa, was fired on 6 November.

The feud between Mugabe and Mnangagwa had been bitter – in October she publicly denied poisoning him after he fell ill at a rally in August.

Insisting it was not a coup, Moyo said "as soon as [the armed forces] are done the situation will come to normalcy".

"We urge you to remain calm and limit unnecessary movement.

However, we encourage those who are employed and those with essential business in the city to continue their normal activities as usual," he said.

Moyo said the army had acted because the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation had been ordered not to broadcast a statement from the military on Monday and "the situation in our country has moved to another level".

Cancelling all leave for members of the military, he urged the security forces to "cooperate for the good of our country".

He warned "any provocation will be met with an appropriate response".

There were reports of a number of loud explosions and some incidents of members of the armed forces harassing passers-by during the night.

Residents of Harare said the city was quiet on Wednesday morning, though the usually busy streets were empty.

There was no sign of any disturbance elsewhere in the country.

A witness told Agence France-Presse that gunfire had erupted near Mugabe's private residence in the suburb of Borrowdale early on Wednesday, but there was no independent confirmation of the report.

Nelson Chamisa, the deputy head of opposition MDC party, called for "peace, constitutionalism, democratisation, the rule of law and the sanctity of human life".

The US embassy in the capital tweeted out a message citing "ongoing uncertainty."

A statement later posted by the embassy told US citizens in Zimbabwe to "shelter in place until further notice".

The British embassy said that due to the "uncertain political situation" British nationals should remain at home.

Military convoys had been seen driving through the capital earlier on Tuesday, sparking rumours of a coup attempt just a day after the country's military chief – flanked by other senior officers – warned that he was prepared to "step in" to end turmoil in Zanu-PF.

Zimbabwe's government accused the head of the armed forces of "treasonable conduct" in the early evening, ratcheting up the tension.

Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe has known in 37 years of independence, spent Tuesday afternoon in a cabinet meeting, but his whereabouts overnight were unknown.

In its statement the military said they continued to recognise the president as commander in chief of the armed forces.

Mugabe's sacking of Mnangagwa came as a shock to many observers.

Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as president of Zimbabwe on 24 November, capping a dramatic few weeks that began when he was sacked as vice-president by Robert Mugabe on 6 November.

Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old former intelligence chief, had been locked in a battle with the first lady, Grace Mugabe, to succeed her husband as president.

His sacking – an attempt to clear Grace's path to power - was a tactical error that triggered a military takeover, Mugabe's impeachment by parliament, and his resignation.

Mnangagwa has strong support within the security establishment and among veterans of Zimbabwe's 1970s guerrilla war, when he earned the nickname "the crocodile".

Despite allegations about his role in atrocities in the 1980s, much of the international community had long seen him as being the most likely figure in Zimbabwe to guarantee a stable transition and implement economic reforms.

Nicknamed "the crocodile" from his time fighting in the country's liberation wars, Mnangagwa has strong support among veterans and within the security establishment that he once ran.

He had been considered the mostly likely candidate to succeed Mugabe if the president decided to step down or died in office.

Mnangagwa's sacking was widely seen as a move to pave the way for Grace Mugabe to take power instead.

It caused widespread discontent among Mnangagwa's supporters and exposed deep factional divides within Zanu-PF ranks.

On Monday, Gen Constantine Chiwenga, the head of Zimbabwe's military, called a press conference to warn that troops could intervene if long-term political allies continued to suffer.

"We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that, when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in," Chiwenga said in a statement read at a news conference packed with 90 senior officers from key units, in a show of military unity.

The statement was initially carried on state media, then removed from the airwaves, but the government was slow to respond, with no word from Mugabe himself.

After the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, however, a statement was issued by Simon Khaya-Moyo, the government spokesman and national secretary for information and publicity, accusing Chiwenga of "treasonable conduct".

"Such conduct stands unreservedly condemned not only in the party ... but also in the [region] and the entire African continent where subversion of constitutional authority is ... regarded as absolute anathema," the statement read.

Mugabe's authoritarian rule has been anchored by support from the military but the ageing leader has systematically dismissed veterans of the liberation struggle from party posts in recent years, leaving the top echelons stacked with officials who did not fight in the independence war.

War veterans broke ranks with him in 2016 and have vowed to form a broad front with the opposition to challenge his rule.

Chris Mutsvangwa, the head of the war veterans' group, told reporters in Johannesburg last week that Grace Mugabe was "a mad woman" who had won power through a "coup ... by marriage certificate".

Mutsvangwa issued a statement from Johannesburg on Wednesday praising the military for carrying out "a bloodless correction of gross abuse of power" that would return Zimbabwe to "genuine democracy."

Grace Mugabe is a deeply divisive figure in Zimbabwe with limited popular support.

She has been tarnished by an alleged assault against a model she had found with her sons in a luxury apartment in Johannesburg in September.

Granted diplomatic immunity after the incident, she was allowed to leave South Africa despite a police inquiry, and denies any wrongdoing.

Reports of extravagant purchases, including property in South Africa and a Rolls-Royce, have also angered many Zimbabweans.

Pictures of one of the first lady's sons apparently pouring most of a bottle of champagne over a luxury watch worth tens of thousands of dollars in a nightclub were shared widely on social media this week.

The crisis comes at a time when Zimbabwe faces severe economic problems.

The country is struggling to pay for imports due to a shortage of dollars, which has also caused acute cash shortages.

On the evening of 14 November 2017, elements of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) gathered around Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, and seized control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and key areas of the city. The next day, the ZDF issued a statement. The statement said that it was not a coup d'état.


The statement said that the situation would return to normal only after the ZDF had dealt with the "criminals" around Mugabe responsible for the socio-economic problems of Zimbabwe.

(meta data) TITLE: Military urges calm in Zimbabwe after it seizes key sites in capital | World news | The Guardian

(meta data) AUTHOR: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jasonburke

(meta data) PUBLISHER: https://www.facebook.com/theguardian

(meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2017-11-14T13:29:40-0500

Available for everyone, funded by readers

# Military urges calm in Zimbabwe after it seizes key sites in capital

Military spokesman says President Robert Mugabe and his family were 'safe and sound and their security is guaranteed'

Jason Burke Africa correspondent and a correspondent in Harare

First published on Tue 14 Nov 2017 13.29 EST

Soldiers stand beside military vehicles just outside Harare

The military in Zimbabwe says it has temporarily taken control of the country to "target criminals" around the president, Robert Mugabe, amid high tension and reports of explosions in Harare.

Soldiers have sealed access to parliament, government offices and courts in the capital, residents said.

Access to the president's official residence was also blocked by troops.

## Zimbabwe army denies coup against Mugabe as it takes control of Harare – live

A military spokesman, Maj Gen SB Moyo made an announcement on state television early on Wednesday saying Mugabe and his family were "safe and sound and their security is guaranteed".

Troops had seized the network's offices late on Tuesday night.

Moyo said the army was targeting "criminals around" Mugabe, who were "committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in order to bring them to justice".

The takeover comes amid a bitter battle over who will succeed 93-year-old Mugabe.

Mugabe is 'safe and sound' Zimbabwe's army says – video

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the veteran vice-president and former spy chief who has strong support among many in Zimbabwe's armed forces, was unceremoniously fired last week.

The move opened the road to power open to Grace Mugabe, the president's 53-year-old wife, and a rival faction within the ruling Zanu-PF party.

The finance minister, Ignatius Chombo, a member of Grace Mugabe's G40, was reportedly among those detained by the military.

#### Who is Grace Mugabe and why is she controversial?

Grace Mugabe is the 52-year-old first lady of Zimbabwe.

Born in South Africa, she married Robert Mugabe, 40 years her senior, in 1996.

Initially struggling to emerge from the shadows of the president's popular first wife, Sally, who died in 1992, Mugabe appeared by her husband's side for official functions but rarely got involved in politics herself, focusing publicly on her charity work while gaining a reputation for legendary shopping expeditions.

In 2009 a British photographer alleged that she punched him repeatedly in the face when he tried to take a picture of her in Hong Kong.

She has since been implicated in several incidents outside Zimbabwe: in Singapore, in Malaysia and most recently in South Africa, where she allegedly assaulted a model in August.

The unveiling of Grace Mugabe as a potential successor to her husband began in 2014, when she became head of the ruling party's women's league and the state propaganda machine began talking up her political acumen.

Before the events of 14 November her path to power had received a boost when her main rival, the vice-president , Emmerson Mnangagwa, was fired on 6 November.

The feud between Mugabe and Mnangagwa had been bitter – in October she publicly denied poisoning him after he fell ill at a rally in August.

Insisting it was not a coup, Moyo said "as soon as [the armed forces] are done the situation will come to normalcy".

"We urge you to remain calm and limit unnecessary movement.

However, we encourage those who are employed and those with essential business in the city to continue their normal activities as usual," he said.

Moyo said the army had acted because the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation had been ordered not to broadcast a statement from the military on Monday and "the situation in our country has moved to another level".

Cancelling all leave for members of the military, he urged the security forces to "cooperate for the good of our country".

He warned "any provocation will be met with an appropriate response".

There were reports of a number of loud explosions and some incidents of members of the armed forces harassing passers-by during the night.

Residents of Harare said the city was quiet on Wednesday morning, though the usually busy streets were empty.

There was no sign of any disturbance elsewhere in the country.

A witness told Agence France-Presse that gunfire had erupted near Mugabe's private residence in the suburb of Borrowdale early on Wednesday, but there was no independent confirmation of the report.

Nelson Chamisa, the deputy head of opposition MDC party, called for "peace, constitutionalism, democratisation, the rule of law and the sanctity of human life".

The US embassy in the capital tweeted out a message citing "ongoing uncertainty."

A statement later posted by the embassy told US citizens in Zimbabwe to "shelter in place until further notice".

The British embassy said that due to the "uncertain political situation" British nationals should remain at home.

Military convoys had been seen driving through the capital earlier on Tuesday, sparking rumours of a coup attempt just a day after the country's military chief – flanked by other senior officers – warned that he was prepared to "step in" to end turmoil in Zanu-PF.

Zimbabwe's government accused the head of the armed forces of "treasonable conduct" in the early evening, ratcheting up the tension.

Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe has known in 37 years of independence, spent Tuesday afternoon in a cabinet meeting, but his whereabouts overnight were unknown.

In its statement the military said they continued to recognise the president as commander in chief of the armed forces.

Mugabe's sacking of Mnangagwa came as a shock to many observers.

Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as president of Zimbabwe on 24 November, capping a dramatic few weeks that began when he was sacked as vice-president by Robert Mugabe on 6 November.

Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old former intelligence chief, had been locked in a battle with the first lady, Grace Mugabe, to succeed her husband as president.

His sacking – an attempt to clear Grace's path to power - was a tactical error that triggered a military takeover, Mugabe's impeachment by parliament, and his resignation.

Mnangagwa has strong support within the security establishment and among veterans of Zimbabwe's 1970s guerrilla war, when he earned the nickname "the crocodile".

Despite allegations about his role in atrocities in the 1980s, much of the international community had long seen him as being the most likely figure in Zimbabwe to guarantee a stable transition and implement economic reforms.

Nicknamed "the crocodile" from his time fighting in the country's liberation wars, Mnangagwa has strong support among veterans and within the security establishment that he once ran.

He had been considered the mostly likely candidate to succeed Mugabe if the president decided to step down or died in office.

Mnangagwa's sacking was widely seen as a move to pave the way for Grace Mugabe to take power instead.

It caused widespread discontent among Mnangagwa's supporters and exposed deep factional divides within Zanu-PF ranks.

On Monday, Gen Constantine Chiwenga, the head of Zimbabwe's military, called a press conference to warn that troops could intervene if long-term political allies continued to suffer.

"We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that, when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in," Chiwenga said in a statement read at a news conference packed with 90 senior officers from key units, in a show of military unity.

The statement was initially carried on state media, then removed from the airwaves, but the government was slow to respond, with no word from Mugabe himself.

After the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, however, a statement was issued by Simon Khaya-Moyo, the government spokesman and national secretary for information and publicity, accusing Chiwenga of "treasonable conduct".

"Such conduct stands unreservedly condemned not only in the party ... but also in the [region] and the entire African continent where subversion of constitutional authority is ... regarded as absolute anathema," the statement read.

Mugabe's authoritarian rule has been anchored by support from the military but the ageing leader has systematically dismissed veterans of the liberation struggle from party posts in recent years, leaving the top echelons stacked with officials who did not fight in the independence war.

War veterans broke ranks with him in 2016 and have vowed to form a broad front with the opposition to challenge his rule.

Chris Mutsvangwa, the head of the war veterans' group, told reporters in Johannesburg last week that Grace Mugabe was "a mad woman" who had won power through a "coup ... by marriage certificate".

Mutsvangwa issued a statement from Johannesburg on Wednesday praising the military for carrying out "a bloodless correction of gross abuse of power" that would return Zimbabwe to "genuine democracy."

Grace Mugabe is a deeply divisive figure in Zimbabwe with limited popular support.

She has been tarnished by an alleged assault against a model she had found with her sons in a luxury apartment in Johannesburg in September.

Granted diplomatic immunity after the incident, she was allowed to leave South Africa despite a police inquiry, and denies any wrongdoing.

Reports of extravagant purchases, including property in South Africa and a Rolls-Royce, have also angered many Zimbabweans.

Pictures of one of the first lady's sons apparently pouring most of a bottle of champagne over a luxury watch worth tens of thousands of dollars in a nightclub were shared widely on social media this week.

The crisis comes at a time when Zimbabwe faces severe economic problems.

The country is struggling to pay for imports due to a shortage of dollars, which has also caused acute cash shortages.

On the evening of 14 November 2017, elements of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) gathered around Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, and seized control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and key areas of the city. The next day, the ZDF issued a statement. The statement said that it was not a coup d'état. The statement said that President Robert Mugabe was safe.


Harney died at his home near Orlando, Florida in 1889.

(meta data) TITLE: William Selby Harney (1800-1889)

A brash, opportunistic cavalry officer with an explosive temper and a vindictive predilection for conflict with Indians, fellow officers, and foreign powers, Gen. William Selby Harney led the U.S. Army's Department of Oregon from 1858 to 1860.

During his time in Oregon, he expanded military roads and protection while waging war against Native people in Washington Territory and narrowly avoiding war with Great Britain.

Born on August 22, 1800, Harney was a tall, redheaded Tennessean who counted Andrew Jackson as his mentor and Jefferson Davis as his friend.

After accepting an officer's commission in 1819, he used his connections to the Democratic Party to rise quickly through the army's ranks.

Service in the Seminole Wars in the 1830s honed his skill and reputation in savage warfare against Indians, as did later duty in the Mexican War in 1847, frontier service in Texas in the late 1840s and 1850s and the Plains and Midwest in the 1850s, and a return campaign to Florida in 1857.

In 1855, at the Battle of Ash Hollow in western Nebraska, soldiers under his command indiscriminately killed Brulé Lakota men, women, and children, earning Harney the sobriquets The Butcher and The Big Chief Who Swears.

Harney did not focus his hair-trigger temper solely on Native peoples.

He physically assaulted subordinates, intimidated junior officers, executed deserters in the Mexican War, and bludgeoned to death a family female house slave.

Despite—and arguably because of—his reputation, many residents of Oregon and others in the West advocated for his presence, and newspapers welcomed his alacrity and aggressive practice of "rough and ready, sledgehammer warfare."

Harney's dedication to a martial life left little room for a personal one.

He fathered a child, Mary Caroline, through a relationship with Ke-Sho-Ko, a mixed-blood Winnebago woman, while posted to Fort Winnebago in the early 1830s, but abandoned them both upon his reassignment.

In 1833, in St. Louis, he married Mary Mullanphy and converted to Catholicism.

Her family's wealth and status helped further his ambition to rise in the army.

He fathered three children with Mary, but after 1850 he would see her only twice.

In 1853, she relocated with their children to France, where she died in 1860.

In 1858, in response to conflict provoked by the encroachment of white miners en route to Washington and British Columbia gold fields on traditional Native lands in central Washington Territory, the U.S. Army divided its Pacific Division, creating a new Department of Oregon that encompassed Washington and most of Oregon Territories.

Harney was placed in command of the new department and its nearly two thousand soldiers, with a goal of retribution against the Yakama, Palus, Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, and other Northwest peoples who had defeated a column of more than 150 soldiers led by Col. Edward Steptoe.

On his way to the department's headquarters at Fort Vancouver, where he arrived on October 24, 1858, Harney found the fighting over and treaties already prepared.

Through his friend Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet, he communicated to tribal leaders his commitment to enforcing the peace.

He then opened the country east of the Cascades to whites, assuring resettlers of the army's protection, and initiated the survey and construction of military roads to improve transportation between the interior and the Willamette Valley.

It was a strategy that appealed to settlers but strained relations with the region's Native peoples.

Harney's undoing in the Pacific Northwest stemmed from his antagonism of Great Britain, which brought two nations to the brink of war.

Following the shooting of a Hudson's Bay Company's pig by an American citizen in June 1859, Harney sent troops to occupy San Juan Island, the ownership of which was in dispute and under negotiation.

Following the arrival of British warships, he escalated the situation by sending reinforcements and directing a lieutenant to proclaim that the island was U.S. territory.

Learning of the crisis, President James Buchanan dispatched Winfield Scott, the army's commanding general, to the Columbia River, where he chastised Harney and discussed his reassignment.

He was relieved of his departmental command on June 8, 1860, and ordered to "report in person to the Secretary of War."

The confrontation was dubbed the "Pig War."

Harney led the Department of the West from St. Louis until he was again relieved of command in 1861 due to his perceived indecision during the Missouri secession crisis.

After retiring in 1863, he served with the Indian Peace Commission, and in 1884 he married Mary St. Cyr.

Harney died at his home near Orlando, Florida, in 1889, just months after Harney County was named for him.

He is the namesake of the Oregon community of Harney, Harney Valley, Harney Lake, and Fort Harney (1867-1880).

Courtesy Oregon Hist. Soc. Research Lib., Orhi4396

McLoughlin House Unit of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

General William S. Harney: Prince of Dragoons.

Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2001.

Army Regulars on the Western Frontier, 1848-1861.

Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001.

Schlicke, Carl P. General George Wright: Guardian of the Pacific Coast.

Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

Shine, Gregory P. "An Indispensable Point": A Historic Resource Study of the Vancouver Ordnance Depot and Arsenal, 1849-1882.

Vancouver, Wash.: National Park Service, 2008.

Friday Harbor, WA: Griffin Bay Bookstore, 1999.

On August 14, 1848, Congress created Oregon Territory, a vast stretch of western America that included all or portions of five present-day states, including Washington.

Within less than a decade, though, Congress agreed to split the area by calving off a new territory—Washington.

The creation of Washington Territory in 1853 ...

Fort Vancouver, a British fur trading post built in 1824 to optimize the Hudson's Bay Company's operations in the Oregon Country, was the headquarters and central supply depot for the HBC's operations west of the Rocky Mountains.

It was, according to the company's governor Sir George Simpson, "the great centre of ...

Although a late arrival to the Oregon Country fur trade, for nearly two decades in the early nineteenth century the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) dominated the region's social, economic, and political life while ensuring profit to its shareholders.

This quest for profit—achieved through the pioneering extraction of the Pacific ...

The treaty with the Confederated Bands of Kalapuya (1855) is the only ratified treaty with the Kalapuyan groups who are indigenous to the Willamette Valley.

The treaty dispossessed the Kalapuyans and their descendants of their aboriginal lands and effectively transferred the vast wealth of the Willamette Valley to non-Indians.

Native American Treaties, Northeastern Oregon (essay)

After American immigrants arrived in the Oregon Territory in the 1840s, representatives of the United States established policies for indigenous peoples in northeastern Oregon.

By that time, the government had honed its policies and protocols in dealing with Native people, which included treaties, war, removal, and concentration on reservations.

The treaty council held at Waiilatpu (Place of the Rye Grass) in the Walla Walla Valley in May and June of 1855 forever changed the lives of Native Americans living in north-central and eastern Oregon.

The fate of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Indians who lived in that part ...

From 1848 to 1855, the United States made several treaties with the tribes of western Oregon.

Those treaties cleared the way for increased settlement by Americans and other immigrants into the Willamette Valley, as Native people were removed to reservations to eliminate conflicts and competition.

This entry was last updated on Jan. 15, 2019


Harney County, Oregon was named for him.

(meta data) TITLE: William Selby Harney (1800-1889)

A brash, opportunistic cavalry officer with an explosive temper and a vindictive predilection for conflict with Indians, fellow officers, and foreign powers, Gen. William Selby Harney led the U.S. Army's Department of Oregon from 1858 to 1860.

During his time in Oregon, he expanded military roads and protection while waging war against Native people in Washington Territory and narrowly avoiding war with Great Britain.

Born on August 22, 1800, Harney was a tall, redheaded Tennessean who counted Andrew Jackson as his mentor and Jefferson Davis as his friend.

After accepting an officer's commission in 1819, he used his connections to the Democratic Party to rise quickly through the army's ranks.

Service in the Seminole Wars in the 1830s honed his skill and reputation in savage warfare against Indians, as did later duty in the Mexican War in 1847, frontier service in Texas in the late 1840s and 1850s and the Plains and Midwest in the 1850s, and a return campaign to Florida in 1857.

In 1855, at the Battle of Ash Hollow in western Nebraska, soldiers under his command indiscriminately killed Brulé Lakota men, women, and children, earning Harney the sobriquets The Butcher and The Big Chief Who Swears.

Harney did not focus his hair-trigger temper solely on Native peoples.

He physically assaulted subordinates, intimidated junior officers, executed deserters in the Mexican War, and bludgeoned to death a family female house slave.

Despite—and arguably because of—his reputation, many residents of Oregon and others in the West advocated for his presence, and newspapers welcomed his alacrity and aggressive practice of "rough and ready, sledgehammer warfare."

Harney's dedication to a martial life left little room for a personal one.

He fathered a child, Mary Caroline, through a relationship with Ke-Sho-Ko, a mixed-blood Winnebago woman, while posted to Fort Winnebago in the early 1830s, but abandoned them both upon his reassignment.

In 1833, in St. Louis, he married Mary Mullanphy and converted to Catholicism.

Her family's wealth and status helped further his ambition to rise in the army.

He fathered three children with Mary, but after 1850 he would see her only twice.

In 1853, she relocated with their children to France, where she died in 1860.

In 1858, in response to conflict provoked by the encroachment of white miners en route to Washington and British Columbia gold fields on traditional Native lands in central Washington Territory, the U.S. Army divided its Pacific Division, creating a new Department of Oregon that encompassed Washington and most of Oregon Territories.

Harney was placed in command of the new department and its nearly two thousand soldiers, with a goal of retribution against the Yakama, Palus, Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, and other Northwest peoples who had defeated a column of more than 150 soldiers led by Col. Edward Steptoe.

On his way to the department's headquarters at Fort Vancouver, where he arrived on October 24, 1858, Harney found the fighting over and treaties already prepared.

Through his friend Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet, he communicated to tribal leaders his commitment to enforcing the peace.

He then opened the country east of the Cascades to whites, assuring resettlers of the army's protection, and initiated the survey and construction of military roads to improve transportation between the interior and the Willamette Valley.

It was a strategy that appealed to settlers but strained relations with the region's Native peoples.

Harney's undoing in the Pacific Northwest stemmed from his antagonism of Great Britain, which brought two nations to the brink of war.

Following the shooting of a Hudson's Bay Company's pig by an American citizen in June 1859, Harney sent troops to occupy San Juan Island, the ownership of which was in dispute and under negotiation.

Following the arrival of British warships, he escalated the situation by sending reinforcements and directing a lieutenant to proclaim that the island was U.S. territory.

Learning of the crisis, President James Buchanan dispatched Winfield Scott, the army's commanding general, to the Columbia River, where he chastised Harney and discussed his reassignment.

He was relieved of his departmental command on June 8, 1860, and ordered to "report in person to the Secretary of War."

The confrontation was dubbed the "Pig War."

Harney led the Department of the West from St. Louis until he was again relieved of command in 1861 due to his perceived indecision during the Missouri secession crisis.

After retiring in 1863, he served with the Indian Peace Commission, and in 1884 he married Mary St. Cyr.

Harney died at his home near Orlando, Florida, in 1889, just months after Harney County was named for him.

He is the namesake of the Oregon community of Harney, Harney Valley, Harney Lake, and Fort Harney (1867-1880).

Courtesy Oregon Hist. Soc. Research Lib., Orhi4396

McLoughlin House Unit of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

General William S. Harney: Prince of Dragoons.

Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2001.

Army Regulars on the Western Frontier, 1848-1861.

Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001.

Schlicke, Carl P. General George Wright: Guardian of the Pacific Coast.

Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

Shine, Gregory P. "An Indispensable Point": A Historic Resource Study of the Vancouver Ordnance Depot and Arsenal, 1849-1882.

Vancouver, Wash.: National Park Service, 2008.

Friday Harbor, WA: Griffin Bay Bookstore, 1999.

On August 14, 1848, Congress created Oregon Territory, a vast stretch of western America that included all or portions of five present-day states, including Washington.

Within less than a decade, though, Congress agreed to split the area by calving off a new territory—Washington.

The creation of Washington Territory in 1853 ...

Fort Vancouver, a British fur trading post built in 1824 to optimize the Hudson's Bay Company's operations in the Oregon Country, was the headquarters and central supply depot for the HBC's operations west of the Rocky Mountains.

It was, according to the company's governor Sir George Simpson, "the great centre of ...

Although a late arrival to the Oregon Country fur trade, for nearly two decades in the early nineteenth century the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) dominated the region's social, economic, and political life while ensuring profit to its shareholders.

This quest for profit—achieved through the pioneering extraction of the Pacific ...

The treaty with the Confederated Bands of Kalapuya (1855) is the only ratified treaty with the Kalapuyan groups who are indigenous to the Willamette Valley.

The treaty dispossessed the Kalapuyans and their descendants of their aboriginal lands and effectively transferred the vast wealth of the Willamette Valley to non-Indians.

Native American Treaties, Northeastern Oregon (essay)

After American immigrants arrived in the Oregon Territory in the 1840s, representatives of the United States established policies for indigenous peoples in northeastern Oregon.

By that time, the government had honed its policies and protocols in dealing with Native people, which included treaties, war, removal, and concentration on reservations.

The treaty council held at Waiilatpu (Place of the Rye Grass) in the Walla Walla Valley in May and June of 1855 forever changed the lives of Native Americans living in north-central and eastern Oregon.

The fate of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Indians who lived in that part ...

From 1848 to 1855, the United States made several treaties with the tribes of western Oregon.

Those treaties cleared the way for increased settlement by Americans and other immigrants into the Willamette Valley, as Native people were removed to reservations to eliminate conflicts and competition.

This entry was last updated on Jan. 15, 2019

Harney died at his home near Orlando, Florida in 1889.


Harney died just months after Harney County, Oregon was named for him.

(meta data) TITLE: William Selby Harney (1800-1889)

A brash, opportunistic cavalry officer with an explosive temper and a vindictive predilection for conflict with Indians, fellow officers, and foreign powers, Gen. William Selby Harney led the U.S. Army's Department of Oregon from 1858 to 1860.

During his time in Oregon, he expanded military roads and protection while waging war against Native people in Washington Territory and narrowly avoiding war with Great Britain.

Born on August 22, 1800, Harney was a tall, redheaded Tennessean who counted Andrew Jackson as his mentor and Jefferson Davis as his friend.

After accepting an officer's commission in 1819, he used his connections to the Democratic Party to rise quickly through the army's ranks.

Service in the Seminole Wars in the 1830s honed his skill and reputation in savage warfare against Indians, as did later duty in the Mexican War in 1847, frontier service in Texas in the late 1840s and 1850s and the Plains and Midwest in the 1850s, and a return campaign to Florida in 1857.

In 1855, at the Battle of Ash Hollow in western Nebraska, soldiers under his command indiscriminately killed Brulé Lakota men, women, and children, earning Harney the sobriquets The Butcher and The Big Chief Who Swears.

Harney did not focus his hair-trigger temper solely on Native peoples.

He physically assaulted subordinates, intimidated junior officers, executed deserters in the Mexican War, and bludgeoned to death a family female house slave.

Despite—and arguably because of—his reputation, many residents of Oregon and others in the West advocated for his presence, and newspapers welcomed his alacrity and aggressive practice of "rough and ready, sledgehammer warfare."

Harney's dedication to a martial life left little room for a personal one.

He fathered a child, Mary Caroline, through a relationship with Ke-Sho-Ko, a mixed-blood Winnebago woman, while posted to Fort Winnebago in the early 1830s, but abandoned them both upon his reassignment.

In 1833, in St. Louis, he married Mary Mullanphy and converted to Catholicism.

Her family's wealth and status helped further his ambition to rise in the army.

He fathered three children with Mary, but after 1850 he would see her only twice.

In 1853, she relocated with their children to France, where she died in 1860.

In 1858, in response to conflict provoked by the encroachment of white miners en route to Washington and British Columbia gold fields on traditional Native lands in central Washington Territory, the U.S. Army divided its Pacific Division, creating a new Department of Oregon that encompassed Washington and most of Oregon Territories.

Harney was placed in command of the new department and its nearly two thousand soldiers, with a goal of retribution against the Yakama, Palus, Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, and other Northwest peoples who had defeated a column of more than 150 soldiers led by Col. Edward Steptoe.

On his way to the department's headquarters at Fort Vancouver, where he arrived on October 24, 1858, Harney found the fighting over and treaties already prepared.

Through his friend Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet, he communicated to tribal leaders his commitment to enforcing the peace.

He then opened the country east of the Cascades to whites, assuring resettlers of the army's protection, and initiated the survey and construction of military roads to improve transportation between the interior and the Willamette Valley.

It was a strategy that appealed to settlers but strained relations with the region's Native peoples.

Harney's undoing in the Pacific Northwest stemmed from his antagonism of Great Britain, which brought two nations to the brink of war.

Following the shooting of a Hudson's Bay Company's pig by an American citizen in June 1859, Harney sent troops to occupy San Juan Island, the ownership of which was in dispute and under negotiation.

Following the arrival of British warships, he escalated the situation by sending reinforcements and directing a lieutenant to proclaim that the island was U.S. territory.

Learning of the crisis, President James Buchanan dispatched Winfield Scott, the army's commanding general, to the Columbia River, where he chastised Harney and discussed his reassignment.

He was relieved of his departmental command on June 8, 1860, and ordered to "report in person to the Secretary of War."

The confrontation was dubbed the "Pig War."

Harney led the Department of the West from St. Louis until he was again relieved of command in 1861 due to his perceived indecision during the Missouri secession crisis.

After retiring in 1863, he served with the Indian Peace Commission, and in 1884 he married Mary St. Cyr.

Harney died at his home near Orlando, Florida, in 1889, just months after Harney County was named for him.

He is the namesake of the Oregon community of Harney, Harney Valley, Harney Lake, and Fort Harney (1867-1880).

Courtesy Oregon Hist. Soc. Research Lib., Orhi4396

McLoughlin House Unit of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

General William S. Harney: Prince of Dragoons.

Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2001.

Army Regulars on the Western Frontier, 1848-1861.

Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001.

Schlicke, Carl P. General George Wright: Guardian of the Pacific Coast.

Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

Shine, Gregory P. "An Indispensable Point": A Historic Resource Study of the Vancouver Ordnance Depot and Arsenal, 1849-1882.

Vancouver, Wash.: National Park Service, 2008.

Friday Harbor, WA: Griffin Bay Bookstore, 1999.

On August 14, 1848, Congress created Oregon Territory, a vast stretch of western America that included all or portions of five present-day states, including Washington.

Within less than a decade, though, Congress agreed to split the area by calving off a new territory—Washington.

The creation of Washington Territory in 1853 ...

Fort Vancouver, a British fur trading post built in 1824 to optimize the Hudson's Bay Company's operations in the Oregon Country, was the headquarters and central supply depot for the HBC's operations west of the Rocky Mountains.

It was, according to the company's governor Sir George Simpson, "the great centre of ...

Although a late arrival to the Oregon Country fur trade, for nearly two decades in the early nineteenth century the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) dominated the region's social, economic, and political life while ensuring profit to its shareholders.

This quest for profit—achieved through the pioneering extraction of the Pacific ...

The treaty with the Confederated Bands of Kalapuya (1855) is the only ratified treaty with the Kalapuyan groups who are indigenous to the Willamette Valley.

The treaty dispossessed the Kalapuyans and their descendants of their aboriginal lands and effectively transferred the vast wealth of the Willamette Valley to non-Indians.

Native American Treaties, Northeastern Oregon (essay)

After American immigrants arrived in the Oregon Territory in the 1840s, representatives of the United States established policies for indigenous peoples in northeastern Oregon.

By that time, the government had honed its policies and protocols in dealing with Native people, which included treaties, war, removal, and concentration on reservations.

The treaty council held at Waiilatpu (Place of the Rye Grass) in the Walla Walla Valley in May and June of 1855 forever changed the lives of Native Americans living in north-central and eastern Oregon.

The fate of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Indians who lived in that part ...

From 1848 to 1855, the United States made several treaties with the tribes of western Oregon.

Those treaties cleared the way for increased settlement by Americans and other immigrants into the Willamette Valley, as Native people were removed to reservations to eliminate conflicts and competition.

This entry was last updated on Jan. 15, 2019

Harney died at his home near Orlando, Florida in 1889. Harney County, Oregon was named for him.