British Ex-Soldier Convicted in Zimbabwe
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- A former British special forces operative who allegedly led a foiled coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea was convicted Friday of trying to buy weapons from Zimbabwe's state arms manufacturer.
Sixty-six other suspected mercenaries were acquitted of the charge in connection with a deal that officials initially said was intended to get weapons for the coup plot, though the judge did not link them in his ruling .
The convicted suspect, Simon Mann, admitted trying to get weapons from the Zimbabwe Defense Industries, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Mann, however, contended that the weapons, which included assault rifles, grenades, antitank rocket launchers and other arms, were for a job protecting a mining operation in war-torn eastern Congo.
Nineteen people, including a number of South Africans, are on trial in the West African nation of Equatorial Guinea for the alleged coup plot.
Equatorial Guinea prosecutors said that they were seeking to extradite Mark Thatcher, son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who is under house arrest in South Africa for allegedly providing financing for the plot.
AFRICA
• EL FASHER, Sudan -- American civil rights activist Jesse Jackson visited the conflict-torn region of Darfur, urging the Sudanese government and African rebels to end the crisis that has killed thousands of villagers and driven more than a million from their homes.
Arriving in the provincial capital of North Darfur in an aircraft lent by Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, Jackson said he wanted to "observe first hand what we have heard through testimony and what we have read."
"It is obvious there is a great humanitarian crisis," Jackson said after landing at an airport in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, where he was met by a delegation of tribal leaders and officials.
"We call for collective action soon to stop the violence and open up the roads for relief, and that requires a worldwide effort," said Jackson. "Timing is of the essence as people are dying every day."
• GENEINA, Sudan -- A group of 78 Eritreans being deported from Libya hijacked their plane and diverted it to Khartoum, Sudan, where they surrendered, U.N. and Sudanese officials said.
A senior Sudanese official said the chartered plane had taken off from the Libyan town of Khufrah and was heading for the Eritrean capital, Asmara, when the deportees seized control.
Libya had denied them refugee status, and they wanted to seek asylum in Sudan rather than return home, the official said, adding, "The United Nations is dealing with this."
