UN probes Zimbabwe destruction

AN envoy for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan flew to Zimbabwe to investigate a so-called urban renewal campaign that has destroyed the homes and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans.

Hours before the arrival yesterday of Anna Tibaijuka, head of UN Habitat, a state-run newspaper reported that the government was winding down the campaign dubbed Operation Murambatsvina, or Drive Out Trash.

The Sunday Mail report was dismissed by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Party spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi said the destruction of shanty towns continued unabated over the weekend in the southern border town of Beitbridge.