Pretoria 'could raid Zimbabwe'

PRETORIA (Reuter) - South Africa would consider raids into Zimbabwe to attack bases of a radical black group which has declared war on whites, the Law and Order Minister, Hernus Kriel, said yesterday.

'That would be the last resort,' Mr Kriel said. 'Obviously we would not like to do anything like that. We are not looking for trouble with our neighbours.' Mr Kriel said the government had a duty to protect its citizens against groups like the Azanian People's Liberation Army (Apla), the armed wing of the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), which killed five whites in two recent attacks in the eastern Cape.

Mr Kriel said he was pleased at a statement by the Zimbabwean government warning the PAC not to make inflammatory declarations in the country.