Mugabe's military might be fading

"....Once among the best trained and most battle hardened in Africa, the military is now suffering a rash of defections among servicemen who are no longer prepared to put up with subsistence wages....

The former airman said: "We didn't have enough food to eat when we did fly, and our pay was Z$150,000 (about £4 in April). We complained but they said everyone was suffering from British sanctions.

"At home I saw friends who didn't have a secondary school education coming from South Africa with many things, and we had absolutely nothing, I couldn't even buy food for my mother.

"Last year I spent four months without flying and that was when I started thinking of leaving."