adminWalter Nyamukondiwa Kariba Bureau
The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is ready to defend the country against any asymmetric warfare that can be waged by proponents of regime change.
Through reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, the military has been able to establish that the warfare involves some elements of the business community who are unjustifiably increasing prices.
Asymmetric warfare is waged by a militia or resistance movements against a standing army.
Speaking at the conclusion of the inter-Brigade Recce platoons’ competition at Wafa Wafa camp in Kariba last week, Mechanised Brigade Commander Brigadier-General Steven Gwekwerere said members of the army should stand ready to defend the country.
“To this end, we must be ready to fight the agents of regime change by all means possible as they launch asymmetric warfare targeting to subvert the military and the generality of the population at large,” said Brig-Gen Gwekwerere.
“This has resulted in the unethical conduct by some elements in the business community who increase basic commodities prices without any justification.”
The country has seen a wave of price increases especially of basic commodities which have been described by Government as unjustified.
He said members of the army should guard jealously the country’s Independence and sovereignty as it was born out of immense sacrifice.
Bandied together with illegal sanctions and social media propaganda, the cocktail of interventions, he said, were aimed at suffocating Government to achieve regime change.
“You must be wary of the subversive propaganda circulating on social media and other platforms. We should remain steadfast, disciplined, loyal and patriotic as we defend our country Zimbabwe. It is our mandate as an army to defend the country’s interests, independence and sovereignty at all costs,” he said.
Brig-Gen Gwekwerere said sanctions have continued to affect the general operations of the army including administration and logistics. He commended the army for its role in restoring order following disturbances in January and the search, rescue and recovery operations following the devastating Cyclone Idai.
Turning to the Recce competitions, he said the gruelling training exercise in the rugged terrain of Kariba provided perfect conditions to assess the army’s proficiency in reconnaissance.
Such efficiency and effectiveness, he said, was key in the gathering of accurate and timely intelligence to aid planning.
At least seven infantry platoons participated in the physically and mentally challenging exercise which looked at kit inspection, tactical river crossing, ground to air control, bush craft, memory test, map reading, observation post and tracking among others. The week-long competition started in Makuti with the seven platoons making their way to Wafa Wafa in Kariba about 100 kilometres away.
He said ZNA members should cherish and uphold the army’s rich history of success.
“Our successes in the battlefield during the Mozambican campaign and the Operation Sovereign Legitimacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo is credited to gallant Recce operatives who provided timely and accurate combat intelligence,” said Brig-Gen Gwekwerere.
“These operatives sacrificed their lives to the success of the operations as accurate combat intelligence was pivotal during the battles of Tete Corridor, Gorongosa and Mutarara in Mozambique and the battles of Kabinda and Ikela in DRC.”
He said there had been notable improvement from last year’s competitions before urging formations and units to continue perfecting their skills.
Online Reporter