Mounting concern, from a variety of quarters, is being expressed inside Zimbabwe at the activities of the "private armies" or "auxiliary forces" spawned by the regime's "ceasefire" programme. Claims that such elements were "intimidating people by demanding money, conducting searches and by threatening people if they did not have a membership card of a particular party" were made at the annual conference in Salisbury of the African Farmers Union, for example. The issue has led to even greater wrangling and mutual recriminations among the parties to the internal settlement agreement.
Rev. Sithole, in particular, has stressed his party's support for a policy of setting up militia groups made up of local residents in the TTLs, to be known as "home guards". He announced at the end of September that the transitional government had "decided that tribesmen should be trained and armed so that they may be in a position to defend their villages". This is in addition to plans announced by the regime to step up conscription into the security forces for Africans.
