More than 80 Zimbabweans join the British army

More than 80 Zimbabweans have joined the British armed forces during the past year according to the Parliamentary under-secretary of State for Defence Andrew Robathan.

Robathan told the House of Commons this week that 283 Zimbabweans had applied to enlist with the British armed forces but only 83 had been enlisted.

He had been asked by Conservative Member of Parliament Michael Fallon how many citizens of Commonwealth countries had applied to enlist with the British armed forces and how many had been enlisted.

Zimbabweans, who contributed a huge chunk of the foreign nationals recruited, were included on the list of 42 countries though Zimbabwe is currently not a member of the Commonwealth.

It was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2002 over concerns with its electoral and land reform policies. It voluntarily withdrew from the organisation in 2003.

Britain has been spearheading the call for sanctions on Zimbabwe but recent reports have shown that it is funding the Zimbabwean army which has been accused of most of the human rights violations in the country.

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