The military of the Republic of Zimbabwe says it has not been asked yet to help the government of South Sudan, after media reports that the Juba wanted help in protecting its oilfields.

State television in South Sudan’s capital Juba had reported that Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Bejamin made a plea to Zimbabwe for military assistance. This request was reportedly conveyed to Zimbabwe’s ambassador in Juba, Kufa Chinoza.

“Zimbabwe should join IGAD countries to help protect South Sudan oilfields,” the foreign minister said, referring to the East African bloc planning to send a force to South Sudan.

But Zimbabwe Defence Forces spokesperson Colonel Overson Mugwisi yesterday said that they had not yet received the request, according to a report by News Day, a newspaper in Harare, Zimbabwe.

“It’s news to me. Usually that level of interaction isn’t made a secret, but we have not heard about that. Where are you getting that from?” Mugwisi said.

After a meeting between South Sudanese and Egyptian officials in Cairo earlier this month the state-run television in Juba similarly reported that the countries had agreed on a military pact.

The report was not corroborated by Egyptian media, and foreign minister Marial later clarified that the meeting was part of ‘normal diplomatic relations,’ and not for military collaboration. 

File photo: Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe (Wikipedia)