Zimbabwe’s Mugabe Resisting Army Pressure to Quit: Senior Source

Zimbabwe’s Mugabe Resisting Army Pressure to Quit: Senior Source
Soldiers are seen next to and on the armoured vehicle on the street in central Harare, Zimbabwe, Nov. 16, 2017. Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo
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HARARE—President Robert Mugabe is insisting he remains Zimbabwe’s only legitimate ruler, an intelligence source said on Thursday, and is resisting mediation by a Catholic priest to allow the 93-year-old former guerrilla a graceful exit after a military coup.

The priest, Fidelis Mukonori, is acting as a middle-man between Mugabe and the generals, who seized power on Wednesday in a targeted operation against “criminals” in his entourage, a senior political source told Reuters.