Zimbabwe: Hunger claims ‘US plot’

The Zimbabwe government has angrily denied reports that half the population will need food aid this year.

Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said the report was part of western plans to destabilise Zimbabwe ahead of elections due in March, state media reported.

A US-funded food monitoring body said last week that almost six million Zimbabweans would need food aid before the next harvest.

The opposition accuses the government of using food as a political tool.

They say the government refuses international food aid in order to retain control of its distribution, which the government rejects.