In Washington, a US State Department official denied that the plane was registered in the United States, though said it might once have been. "It is not a US registered aircraft right now," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Mohadi said that a "United States of America-registered Boeing 727-100 cargo plane was detained last (Sunday) night at about 1930 hours (1730 GMT) at Harare International Airport after its owners had made a false declaration of its cargo and crew."

"The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities," the minister told a press conference.

"Further investigations also revealed that on board the plane was military material."

State television showed footage of the plane late Monday.

Some of the equipment shown included satellite telephones, compasses, radios, military knives and boots, bolt-cutters and sleeping bags.

The television said that most of the suspects were white, "heavily built males".

The equipment found aboard the plane was usually used by "commandos on a special mission" it added.

In Pretoria, meanwhile, South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said that "the South African government is concerned at unconfirmed reports that some of the people on board may be South African nationals".

Pahad did not say where those reports came from, but added, in a statement: "Should the allegations that those South Africans on board are involved in mercenary activities prove true, this would amount to a serious breach of the Foreign Military Assistance Act which expressly prohibits the involvement of South Africans in military activities outside South Africa without the due authorisation of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee."

Mohadi said full details would be issued in due course but that in the meantime investigations were under way to establish the "true identities of the men and their ultimate mission".

The plane was moved to a military airbase, AFP was told.

What had been done with the men aboard was not immediately clear.

A US embassy official in Harare claimed "We know nothing about it" and the mystery deepened when the official in Washington confirmed: "It is not a US government or a US commercial aircraft as far as we know.

"I understand that at one point back in the 1970's someone may have owned it in the US but it hasn't been a US aircraft since the early 80s," the official said.

"I have no idea who owns it. There is no US citizen on board."

President Robert Mugabe has repeatedly accused the US government and the former colonial power, Britain, of trying to oust him since he was re-elected in controversial polls two years ago.

Relations between the United States and Zimbabwe worsened last week when US President George W. Bush renewed sanctions imposed on Mugabe and other government officials a year ago for allegedly undermining democracy in the southern African country.

Washington said it was widening the existing sanctions regime against Zimbabwe to include seven government-related businesses.

Bush said the Zimbabwe government was causing a breakdown of the rule of law, economic instability, and fomenting politically motivated violence, but Information Minister Jonathan Moyo responded angrily, referring to the Americans as "hamburger-eating imperialists".

Last month the EU extended sanctions it had imposed against Zimbabwe, to include an arms embargo as well as travel restrictions and a freeze on any overseas assets of 95 government officials, including Mugabe.

The economy of the former British colony has been in a nose-dive in recent years with international support drying up, and rates of inflation and interest skyrocketing to record highs of more than 600 percent.

Mugabe's reputation as an African statesman started fading in recent years after the country -- once the region's breadbasket -- slid into economic decline as land reforms which had been left unresolved for years, were jump-started with the violent occupation of white-owned farms.

All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Quick Links
SpaceWar
Search SpaceWar
Subscribe To SpaceWar Express

SpaceWar Search Engine

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SPACEWAR NEWSLETTER SubscribeUnsubscribe