Zimbabwean enlisted in British army killed in Iraq: reports

HARARE (AFP) Apr 08, 2003
A Zimbabwean said to be serving in the British military was killed at the weekend in the war in Iraq, state and privately-owned papers said here Tuesday.

The state-run Herald named the soldier as Christopher Muzvuru, who was killed on Sunday in a battle in Basra, Iraq's second largest city.

The Daily Mirror said the Zimbabwean was one of the two British army infantrymen killed by Iraqi forces at the weekend.

The Daily Mirror's sister paper, the Sunday Mirror, reported that by July last year, 190 Zimbabweans had officially joined the British army.

The papers said "hundreds" of whites who served in the (colonial) Rhodesian army have also been enlisted into the British army.

Scores of Zimbabweans have turned to the former colonial power after fleeing deteriorating economic conditions and unemployment which is around 70 percent in the southern African country.

The British high commission in Harare said only the defence ministry in London could comment on military issues.

SPACE.WIRE