'I'll smoke you out' Mutharika tells opponents as new army chief is named

MALAWI'S president Bingu wa Mutharika has appointed a new army chief two days after a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, raising speculation about the loyalty of the impoverished southern African nation's military.

In an announcement on state radio Mutharika promoted Henry Odillo, a junior officer, to replace Marko Chiziko, whose contract officially expired last year but whose departure was nonetheless unexpected. Although Odillo was thought a possible successor, the timing - two days after 18 people were killed in a crackdown on political riots - is likely to fuel speculation about simmering anti-Mutharika feelings in the military.

Calm has returned after last week's demonstrations demanding the resignation of Mutharika, a former World Bank economist first elected in 2004, but protest organisers have set a 16 August deadline for him to sit down and listen to their grievances. The mood on both sides is uncompromising, suggesting further confrontation in a country of 13 million people that styles itself the "Warm heart of Africa".

At a police graduation ceremony on Friday, Mutharika claimed he would "smoke out" protesters who returned to the streets. He has also threatened opposition leaders, accusing them of treason and blaming them for the deaths at last week's anti-government demonstrations.

The crackdown prompted international condemnation from the United States, European Union and former colonial power, the UK.

Mutharika also accused his estranged deputy Joyce Banda, opposition leader John Tembo and two civil leaders of orchestrating the unrest. He said: "The blood of these people who have died is on you. Let their spirits haunt you at night." He also said his patience had worn out: "This time I'll go after you! Even if you hide in holes I'll smoke you out!"

The comments came a day after he said protesters were "being led by Satan".

Malawians remain frustrated by a lack of foreign exchange and fuel despite stellar growth statistics. "The protests this week gave them a lesson," said William Sanudi, a 37-year-old curio-seller in the capital, Lilongwe. "17 August - people are waiting for that day. They will go back on the streets and things will get worse."

Mutharika has presided over six years of high, aid-funded growth, but the sheen has come off this year as he has become embroiled in a diplomatic row with the UK, Malawi's biggest donor, over a leaked embassy cable that referred to him as "autocratic and intolerant of criticism".

The cable led to the expulsion of the UK ambassador and Malawi's representative in London was sent home. Aid worth $550 million (335m) in the next four years was suspended. The freeze has left a hole in the budget of a country dependent on handouts for 40 per cent of its revenues, and intensified a foreign currency shortage that threatens the kwacha, which is pegged at 150 to the dollar. The aid squeeze could well intensify. The US Millennium Challenge Corporation, which approved a $350m overhaul of Malawi's decrepit power grid, said it was deeply concerned about the crackdown and was reviewing its operations.