The Zimbabwean army has said president Robert Mugabe and his wife have been taken into custody after gunfire was heard near his compound and troops seized control of the state broadcaster.
Loud explosions were heard in Harare in the early hours of Wednesday after military vehicles rolled into the capital, triggering speculation of a “bloodless” coup.
The blasts and gunfire came hours after a military chief warned the army could “step in” amid a political crisis sparked by 93-year-old Mr Mugabe firing his vice president – and likely successor – Emmerson Mnangagwa earlier this month.
General Constantino Chiwenga, commmander of Zimbabwe’s defence forces, had demanded an end to a purge in the ruling ZANU-PF party – which appeared to be paving the way for Mr Mugabe’s 52-year-old wife Grace to succeed him.