But the Zambian government has stated that such suggestions are not in the best interest of Zimbabwe or the region.

Zambia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Kabinga Pande said: “there is no need to use military force to tackle Zimbabwe’s economic decline and political instability”.

Pande has maintained that Zambia will continue to use dialogue and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) resolutions on addressing the problems of Zimbabwe.

He has therefore ruled out any possible military invasion of Zimbabwe by either foreign or African troops.

Meanwhile, Zambia has dispelled an online report claiming that Zambia and Botswana are agitating to invade Zimbabwe and overthrow Mugabe’s government.

Zambia’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence have refuted a report published on December 7, 2008 on www.zimbabwetoday.co.uk, a website suspected to be published by Zimbabwean living in the Diaspora.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kabinga Pande and his Defence counterpart George Mpombo have told a joint news briefing in the Zambian capital Lusaka that the online report is false and should be dismissed.

Pande has stated that Zambia is committed to working within the framework of SADC decisions in resolving the situation in Zimbabwe.

Mpombo has rubbished the claims as unthinkable and said: “there are no such plans on invading Zimbabwe or alleged training of Zambian and Botswana crack troops at a location in Zambia.”

The report in www.zimbabwetoday.co.uk claims that Zambia and Botswana are in the process of training a team of troops that will invade Zimbabwe as a way of finding a solution to that country’s economic and political stalemate.