Zimbabwe official blames British government for cholera

Harare: Zimbawe's information minister said the British government is to blame for a "biological attack" that sparked a cholera outbreak in the country.

Nearly 17,000 cases of cholera have been reported across Zimbabwe.

"This is a serious biological-chemical weapon; a genocidal onslaught on the people of Zimbabwe by the British," Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said on Friday.

Ndlovu called for more foreign aid to stop the outbreak.

Medical aid charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Friday that the "unprecedented" epidemic was likely to last for months.

The British foreign minister said that Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who said the outbreak was under control, was responsible for "death and destruction on a grand scale".

"I wish it had been curtailed or curbed, but I think that the public health situation in Zimbabwe is very, very grave indeed," David Miliband told the Associated Press.