Zimbabwe's army chief on Monday demanded a "stop" to the purge in the ruling ZANU-PF party after the sacking of vice president Emmerson Mnangangwa, and warned the military could intervene.

"The current purging which is clearly targetting members of the party with a liberation background must stop forthwith," General Constantino Chiwenga told a media conference attended by about 90 senior army officers at army HQ. "We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in," he said.