Zimbabwe army denies military takeover in live address on state TV

Political turmoil escalated in Zimbabwe overnight, raising the question of whether 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe remains in control of the country he’s ruled for almost four decades — or if he’s been overthrown in a military coup.

As soldiers patrolled the streets, a military spokesman, in a live speech at 4 a.m. local time on state broadcaster ZBC, denied the country was in the grip of a coup, and announced Mugabe and his family were “safe.”

“To both our people and the world beyond our borders, we wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover of government,” Maj. Gen. S.B. Moyo said.

“What the Zimbabwe Defense Forces is doing is to pacify a degenerating political, social and economic situation in our country, which if not addressed may result in a violent conflict,” he said. He urged the public to remain calm but “limit unnecessary movement.”In the hours before the announcement, eyewitnesses reported seeing around 100 troops on the streets of downtown Harare. The sudden appearance of soldiers in the capital comes amid rising political tensions in the wake of Mugabe’s shock sacking of his deputy, powerful Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The military has been careful not to call their efforts a coup, but that appears to be what is actually unfolding, observers say.

“This a coup by any other name,” Alex Magaisa, a former political aide to ex-Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, told CNN. “They might be trying to give a fig leaf to the notion that President Mugabe is still the leader. But de facto they are obviously the military force.”

A Harare resident, who wished not to be named for security reasons, described the city as “very quiet” Wednesday, though shops were open and buses and taxis appeared to be running normally.

“Many people have just stayed home,” she said. Police road blocks were in their usual spots and police were “acting normally.”

The resident added that there was a sense of “excitement in the air” and that social media was humming over what might be happening.Emmerson Mnangagwa has held various senior posts in Zimbabwe’s defense and internal security apparatus.

In the broadcast, Moyo spoke of targeting “criminals” around the president who are “committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.”

He also said the situation in the country “has moved to another level” and that he wished to assure the nation Mugabe and his family are safe and their security is “guaranteed.”

“As soon as we accomplish our mission we expect situation to return to normalcy,” Moyo said

The early morning broadcast interruption came less than 48 hours after the nation’s army commander, Constantino Chiwenga, held a press conference in which he threatened to intervene should his political allies continue to be sidelined.

State media did not cover the press conference at first, but was re-airing it on ZBC in the early hours of Wednesday, a sign that the military may have taken control of the station.

In response to the conference, Mugabe’s political party, Zanu-PF, accused Chiwenga of “treasonable conduct.”Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe delivers a speech on February 28, 2015 during the celebration of his 91st birthday in Victoria Falls.

Against a background of increasing uncertainty, the United States, Canada and United Kingdom both issued warnings to their citizens inside Zimbabwe.

A US embassy spokesman in Zimbabwe said the embassy would be minimally staffed and closed to the public on Wednesday.

CNN