Zimbabwe's dictator Robert Mugabe is likely to be forced to hand power to his sacked vice president in a few weeks to make today's coup appear legal, experts have claimed.
The 93-year-old's grip on the country appears over after he was detained in his own home when the military seized control in what it described as a 'bloodless correction' overnight.
His wife, dubbed Gucci Grace for her love of shopping, is believed to have fled to Namibia having been allowed to leave the country last night, opposition MP Eddie Cross told the BBC. Her location has not yet been confirmed.
Deposed vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, a veteran of Zimbabwe's 1970s liberation wars who was sacked by Mugabe earlier this month, is believed to have returned from exile.
The dismissal of Mnangagwa, nicknamed the crocodile, had left Grace Mugabi, 52, in prime position to succeed her husband as the next president - a succession strongly opposed by senior ranks in the military.
Derek Matyszak, an analyst at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, said he believes the army will now be in negotiations with both Mugabe and Mnangagwa.
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'The easiest way to present a veneer of legality is that Mugabe reappoints Mnangagwa as vice president, briefly - Mugabe then retires.' Under Zimbabwe's constitution, the first vice president would automatically become acting president for 90 days.
South African president Jacob Zuma said this morning he had spoken to Mugabe and that the leader is 'confined to his home' but 'fine'. It came as military vehicles blocked roads outside the parliament in Harare and after senior soldiers delivered a television address to the nation.
There were reports today that police were being beaten by soldiers in Harare's central business district while a picture on social media appears to show officers sitting in a line with troops guarding them.
Last night, Zimbabwe's military stormed the country's national broadcaster's studios to declare it is 'targeting criminals'.
The army was praised today by the nation's influential war veterans for carrying out 'a bloodless correction of gross abuse of power.' The military will return Zimbabwe to 'genuine democracy' and make the country a 'modern model nation,' said Chris Mutsvangwa, chairman of the war veterans' association.
Last night, the military read a statement on live TV claiming this is not 'a military takeover of government' and said Mugabe was safe.
Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo, a leading member of the so-called 'G40' faction of the ruling ZANU-PF party led by Mugabe's wife Grace, had also been detained by the military, a government source said.
The EU this morning called for a 'peaceful resolution' and described the crisis 'a matter of concern' for the bloc. Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson appealed for 'everybody to refrain from violence'.
'We cannot tell how developments in Zimbabwe will play out in the days ahead and we do not know whether this marks the downfall of Mugabe or not,' Mr Johnson told the British parliament.
Britain, Johnson said, had always wanted Zimbabwe's citizens to be masters of their fate. He said Britain would do all it could to ensure that elections next year were free and fair.
'We will do all we can, with our international partners, to ensure this provides a genuine opportunity for all Zimbabweans to decide their future.'
Soldiers stormed the headquarters of state broadcaster ZBC in the early hours of Wednesday, two members of staff and a human rights worker told Reuters, as staff complained they were manhandled by the military members.
After taking control of the station, the military released a statement which denied a coup was underway, adding that Mugabe and his family were 'safe and sound and their security is guaranteed'.
They added that the army were targeting people who 'were committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country.
Zimbabwe military's statement in full after seizing power
Zimbabwe Major General SB Moyo, Chief of Staff Logistics, said on national television:
'We wish to assure the nation that His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and commander in chief of Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Comrade RG Mugabe, and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed.
'We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.
'As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy. To the civil servants, as you are aware, there is a plan by the same people to influence the current purging that is taking place in the political sphere to the civil service. We are against that act of injustice and we intend to protect every one of you against that.
'To the judiciary, the measures underway are intended to assure that as an independent arm of the state you are able to exercise your independent authority without fear of being obstructed.'
'As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy,' the statement continued.
This morning, the TV state broadcaster played liberation struggle songs, while many citizens in Harare shopped at markets, drove to work or queued outside banks despite the turmoil.
But there were signs that Harare may already be preparing for life after Mugabe. This morning, pictures emerged on social media showing how his name had been removed from a street sign.
A sign to 'Mugabe International Airport' had been partially covered up to remove any reference to the dictator.
There was uncertainty over where Mugabe was being held this morning before South African president Jacob Zuma claimed the veteran leader was under house arrest.
'President Zuma spoke to President Robert Mugabe earlier today who indicated that he was confined to his home but said that he was fine,' the South African government said in a statement.
'Zuma, in his capacity as Chair of the Southern African Development Community, is sending Special Envoys to Zimbabwe.'
South African president Jacob Zuma said this morning he had spoken to Mugabe and that the leader is 'confined to his home' but 'fine'. It came as military vehicles blocked roads outside the parliament in Harare and after senior soldiers delivered a television address to the nation.
There were reports today that police were being beaten by soldiers in Harare's central business district while a picture on social media appears to show officers sitting in a line with troops guarding them.
Last night, Zimbabwe's military stormed the country's national broadcaster's studios to declare it is 'targeting criminals'.
The army was praised today by the nation's influential war veterans for carrying out 'a bloodless correction of gross abuse of power.' The military will return Zimbabwe to 'genuine democracy' and make the country a 'modern model nation,' said Chris Mutsvangwa, chairman of the war veterans' association.
Last night, the military read a statement on live TV claiming this is not 'a military takeover of government' and said Mugabe was safe.
Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo, a leading member of the so-called 'G40' faction of the ruling ZANU-PF party led by Mugabe's wife Grace, had also been detained by the military, a government source said.
The EU this morning called for a 'peaceful resolution' and described the crisis 'a matter of concern' for the bloc. Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson appealed for 'everybody to refrain from violence'.
'We cannot tell how developments in Zimbabwe will play out in the days ahead and we do not know whether this marks the downfall of Mugabe or not,' Mr Johnson told the British parliament.
Britain, Johnson said, had always wanted Zimbabwe's citizens to be masters of their fate. He said Britain would do all it could to ensure that elections next year were free and fair.
'We will do all we can, with our international partners, to ensure this provides a genuine opportunity for all Zimbabweans to decide their future.'
Soldiers stormed the headquarters of state broadcaster ZBC in the early hours of Wednesday, two members of staff and a human rights worker told Reuters, as staff complained they were manhandled by the military members.
After taking control of the station, the military released a statement which denied a coup was underway, adding that Mugabe and his family were 'safe and sound and their security is guaranteed'.
They added that the army were targeting people who 'were committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country.
Zimbabwe military's statement in full after seizing power
Zimbabwe Major General SB Moyo, Chief of Staff Logistics, said on national television:
'We wish to assure the nation that His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and commander in chief of Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Comrade RG Mugabe, and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed.
'We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.
'As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy. To the civil servants, as you are aware, there is a plan by the same people to influence the current purging that is taking place in the political sphere to the civil service. We are against that act of injustice and we intend to protect every one of you against that.
'To the judiciary, the measures underway are intended to assure that as an independent arm of the state you are able to exercise your independent authority without fear of being obstructed.'
'As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy,' the statement continued.
This morning, the TV state broadcaster played liberation struggle songs, while many citizens in Harare shopped at markets, drove to work or queued outside banks despite the turmoil.
But there were signs that Harare may already be preparing for life after Mugabe. This morning, pictures emerged on social media showing how his name had been removed from a street sign.
A sign to 'Mugabe International Airport' had been partially covered up to remove any reference to the dictator.
There was uncertainty over where Mugabe was being held this morning before South African president Jacob Zuma claimed the veteran leader was under house arrest.
'President Zuma spoke to President Robert Mugabe earlier today who indicated that he was confined to his home but said that he was fine,' the South African government said in a statement.
'Zuma, in his capacity as Chair of the Southern African Development Community, is sending Special Envoys to Zimbabwe.'
South Africa will send its intelligence and defence ministers, the statement said.
South Africa is Zimbabwe's powerful southern neighbour and is home to hundreds of thousands of Zimbabwean migrants.
It has long pursued a policy of quiet diplomacy with Mugabe as Zimbabwe has previously been engulfed by a string of serious political and economic crises.
Tensions have been rising in the land-locked African country after Zimbabwe's head of the military, General Constantino Chiwenga, challenged Mugabe over his decision to sack Mnangagwa - nicknamed The Crocodile. The move was widely seen as a power play to make way for his wife Grace to succeed him.
Mnangagwa, who has close ties to the military, had been seen as Mugabe's natural successor, and after he was ousted, he took aim at Mugabe and his supporters.
He said said Zanu-PF was 'controlled by undisciplined, egotistical and self-serving minnows who derive their power not from the people and the party but from only two individuals in the form of the first family'.
The ruling ZANU-PF party hit back at Chiwenga's threat, saying it would never succumb to military pressure and described the statement by the armed forces chief as 'treasonable conduct'.
Tanks had been making their way to the city centre throughout Tuesday as tensions reached boiling point.
Then at least three explosions were heard in Harare overnight, sparking fears of a coup which sent shockwaves around Zimbabwe.
Armed soldiers were also reportedly seen assaulting passers-by in the capital and loading ammunition near a group of four military vehicles in an unprecedented challenge to Mugabe.
The Zimbabwean President's house, where gunfire was heard this morning, was also surrounded by soldiers, but speculation suggested it was for his own protection amid suggestions his 37-year reign was coming to an end.
Zimbabwe's envoy to South Africa, Isaac Moyo, had earlier reported there was no coup, adding that the government was 'intact'.
Such takeovers not looked upon favourably bu the African Union (AU).
In 2015, coup leaders were hit with AU sanctions a year after an uprising against leader Blaise Compaore.
A similar view is held by regional block, the Southern African Development Community.
South African government spokesman Clayson Monyela told media in Johannesburg: that 'one of the founding principles and statutes of the African Union, which SADC as a region subscribes to, is that we do not accept nor recognise any unconstitutional change of government.'
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