津巴布韦军方否认军事接管政府

Zimbabwe's military said Wednesday it is not carrying out a military takeover of the government and that both longtime President Robert Mugabe and his family are safe.

"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," the military said in a statement on state television.

The announcement followed witness reports of at least three explosions and heavy gunfire in the capital city of Harare early Wednesday.

Witnesses also said military vehicles and soldiers were on the streets early Wednesday, hours after soldiers took over Zimbabwe's state broadcaster, ZBC. Local residents said instead of the usual 11 p.m. newscast, music videos were played instead.

A spokesman at the U.S. embassy in Harare told VOA the streets appeared calm overnight Wednesday and had no confirmed sightings of military vehicles. The embassy warned Americans via its web site to "shelter in their residences" and work from home on Wednesday. They said the embassy will be minimally staffed and closed to the public.

A State Department official said the United States "encourages all Zimbabweans to approach disputes calmly and peacefully while following democratic, transparent, and constitutional processes for resolving differences."

津巴布韦军方星期三说，它并没有对政府进行军事接管，长期担任总统的穆加贝及其家人都很安全。

国家电视台播放的军方声明说：“我们只针对他周围的犯罪分子，要把他们绳之以法。这些人犯下的罪行造成全国社会和经济的苦难。“

与此同时，津巴布韦首都哈拉雷的目击者说，星期三早晨听到至少三次爆炸和激烈枪战。

目击者还说，军队控制了津巴布韦国家电视台数小时后，星期三早晨街头部署了军车和士兵。当地居民说，在通常晚上11点的资讯节目时间，电视台播放了音乐视频。

美国驻哈拉雷大使馆的发言人对美国之音说，星期三夜间街头看来平静，没有街头部署了军车的确切消息。美国大使馆在网站上警告美国公民“待在住所”和星期三在家工作，还说大使馆人员的配备降到最低，不向公众开放。

美国国务院一位官员说，美国鼓励津巴布韦所有人以冷静和平的方式处理争端，遵循民主、透明和符合宪法的程序。