Zimbabwe's dictator Robert Mugabe has been detained by the military in a 'bloodless correction' of power amid claims his wife has fled to Namibia.
Zimbabwe President's long rule at a glance:
1980: Mugabe named prime minister after independence elections
1982: Military action begins in Matabeleland against perceived uprising; government is accused of killing thousands of civilians
1987: Mugabe changes constitution and becomes president
1994: Mugabe receives honorary British knighthood
2000: Land seizures of white-owned farms begin; Western donors cut off aid
2005: United States calls Zimbabwe an 'outpost of tyranny'
2008: Mugabe and opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirayi agree to share power after contested election; Britain's Queen Elizabeth II annuls Mugabe's honorary knighthood
2011: Prime Minister Tsvangirayi declares power-sharing a failure amid violence
2013: Mugabe wins seventh term; opposition alleges election fraud
2016: (hash)ThisFlag protest movement emerges; independence war veterans turn on Mugabe, calling him 'dictatorial'
2017: Mugabe begins campaigning for 2018 elections
November 6: Mugabe fires deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, appearing to position first lady Grace Mugabe for vice president post
November 15: Army announces it has Mugabe and his wife in custody as military appears to take control
Tensions have been rising in the land-locked African country after Zimbabwe's head of the military, General Constantino Chiwenga (pictured), challenged Mugabe over his decision to sack the vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa
Zimbabwe's military stormed the country's national broadcaster's studios last night to declare there was no coup after explosions and gunfire were heard in the capital.
Zimbabwe Major General SB Moyo, Chief of Staff Logistics, said on national television:
'We wish to assure the nation that His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and commander in chief of Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Comrade RG Mugabe, and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed.
'We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.
'As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy. To the civil servants, as you are aware, there is a plan by the same people to influence the current purging that is taking place in the political sphere to the civil service. We are against that act of injustice and we intend to protect every one of you against that.
'To the judiciary, the measures underway are intended to assure that as an independent arm of the state you are able to exercise your independent authority without fear of being obstructed.'