BBC: Zimbabwe’s Mugabe “Under House Arrest” After Army Takeover

Zimbabweans had been anticipating the departure of President Robert Mugabe, who is 93. Mugabe had been president since 1987 and prime minister before that since 1980, when the country known as Rhodesia won independence from Britain. Zimbabwe’s military ended his long stretch in power with a coup, possibly prompted by removal of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and replacing that officials with Mugabe’s wife. The coup was a gamble, as suggested by a statement from the military urging cooperation among security services: The troops are “only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes... that are causing social and economic suffering in the country," the statement read. Zimbabwe’s army chief recently returned from a visit to China, and the coup took foreign governments by surprise “It is important to remember that Mr Mugabe is not being challenged by the Western governments he has warned against for decades, or by Zimbabwe's political opposition, or by a mass uprising against economic hardship,” explains Andrew Harding for BBC. “This is, fundamentally, an internal power struggle within Zanu-PF and whoever emerges victorious can expect a newly purged party to fall obediently into line.” Harding expects Mnangagwa to resume control. – YaleGlobal