津巴布韋軍方否認軍事接管政府

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."津巴布韋軍方星期三說，它並沒有對政府進行軍事接管，長期擔任總統的穆加貝及其家人都很安全。

國家電視臺播放的軍方聲明說：“我們只針對他周圍的犯罪分子，要把他們繩之以法。這些人犯下的罪行造成全國社會和經濟的苦難。“

與此同時，津巴布韋首都哈拉雷的目擊者說，星期三早晨聽到至少三次爆炸和激烈槍戰。

目擊者還說，軍隊控制了津巴布韋國家電視臺數小時後，星期三早晨街頭部署了軍車和士兵。當地居民說，在通常晚上11點的新聞節目時間，電視臺播放了音樂視頻。

美國駐哈拉雷大使館的發言人對美國之音說，星期三夜間街頭看來平靜，沒有街頭部署了軍車的確切消息。美國大使館在網站上警告美國公民“待在住所”和星期三在家工作，還說大使館人員的配備降到最低，不向公衆開放。

美國國務院一位官員說，美國鼓勵津巴布韋所有人以冷靜和平的方式處理爭端，遵循民主、透明和符合憲法的程序。