The mystery over 64 foreigners being held in Zimbabwe as suspected mercenaries deepened today when Equatorial Guinea said it had arrested a 15-strong "advance party" from the same group.
Zimbabwe put its army on full alert following Sunday's seizure of a US-registered 727-100 cargo plane that government officials said was carrying the suspected mercenaries and a cargo of military material.
The operator of the plane said today the men had been bound for the Democratic Republic of Congo to work as security guards on mines, and the aircraft had only stopped in Zimbabwe to pick up mining equipment.
Zimbabwean officials said the plane - which left South Africa legally on Sunday with a flight plan for Harare - "made a false declaration of cargo and crew" and its passengers had been detained pending investigations.
Officials in the tiny West African nation of Equatorial Guinea said they had arrested 15 suspected mercenaries believed to be linked to the same operation.
"Some 15 mercenaries have been arrested here in Equatorial Guinea and it was connected with that plane in Zimbabwe. They were the advance party of that group," Information Minister Agustin Nse Nfumu said today.
The arrests come amid speculation among exiled opposition politicians that a coup is in the offing.
South Africa's government, which is trying to stop South Africans from fighting overseas as soldiers of fortune, said it had unconfirmed reports some of the alleged mercenaries seized in Zimbabwe were South African nationals.
"Should the allegations that those South Africans on board are involved in mercenary activities prove true, this would amount to a serious breach of the Foreign Military Assistance Act," Deputy Foreign Minister Mr Aziz Pahad said in a statement.
In Washington, the State Department said it had no indication that the plane was connected to the US government, which this month renewed economic sanctions against Mugabe and other top Zimbabwe officials.