Zimbabwe's state media yesterday accused Britain of running a spy network to discredit Harare's role in the Democratic Republic of Congo war.
British undercover agents masquerading as environmentalists and journalists were seeking information on Zimbabwe's interests in the former Zaire after a UN panel "exonerated" Zimbabwe and its military of looting the country, the Herald reported. "There is no substance whatsoever to this story," a Foreign Office spokesman said in London.
The Herald's allegations came on the eve of a Security Council fact-finding mission to the region, including a visit to Zimbabwe on May 21st, Western diplomatic sources said.
A UN panel last month accused combatants in the Congo - especially Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi - of plundering gold, diamonds, timber and other resources and recommended the Security Council impose sanctions on the looters.
Meanwhile, at least 16 firms with South African connections have suffered raids by pro-government militants in Zimbabwe, the South African Ambassador told the official ZIANA news agency yesterday.
In a separate development, a candidate of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, Mr Alois Chaimiti, was elected as the country's first opposition executive mayor after winning in the southern town of Masvingo.