16 allegations of state involvement in the violations, it seems more probable that these officers mentioned were acting according to a strategy and orders. Table 12. Ranks of Officers identified as committing gross human rights violations. Rank District Commanding Officer Officer-in-Charge Chief Superintendent Chief Inspector Inspector Assistant-Inspector Detective Sergeant Constable Number 1 6 1 1 12 4 2 14 18 Percentage 1.7 10.2 1.7 1.7 20.3 6.8 3.4 23.7 30.1 10. The current situation The militia remain deployed throughout the communities of Zimbabwe, both urban and rural. Training camps have been increased, and there have increased intakes for all camps. The reports of militia-driven violence are increasing, but the most sinister development in the current time frame is the involvement of militia in food related activities. There are now numerous reports of militia determining who shall have access to food and other scarce commodities. This has been a feature of all the recent reports of the Food Security Network (FOSENET), an alliance of NGO’s concerned with the humanitarian crisis. In their January report, FOSENET makes this comment xxix: Reported political interference in commercial sales has also increased compared to November reports, with reports of youth militias and police controlling food queues also making decisions on access or claiming preferential access for some. The reported control by police of food queues for commercial supplies appears to have been a response to the tensions generated by scarcities, but has also brought increased report of political bias through militias. Political barriers have superseded cost as the major reported barrier to accessing commercial supplies. Similar comments were made in the November 2002 report issued by FOSENET, but this report did not identify militia as primary offenders, rather making the comment that there was political interference with food access in 38% of the districts surveyedxxx. There are also allegations that the militia are being given preferential access to food and other scarce commodities, and that they have hence become deeply involved in black market activities. FOSENET’s most recent report shows little improvement in the situationxxxi. This adds a whole new dimension to the already serious problems, and raises the concerns about possible genocide. Whilst this may seem a little dramatic, it should be borne in mind that genocide, as defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, does include the withholding of access to crucial vectors of support under the definition of genocide. Amongst the other acts or behaviours that constitute genocide, the Convention includes “deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy a group ”, and this includes the deliberate deprivation of resources needed for the group’s physical survival, such as clean water, food, clothing, shelter or medical services. Here it should also be pointed out that conspiracy to commit genocide is as punishable under the Convention as actually committing genocide, so it becomes very important to disentangle ZanuPF merely condoning the militia interfering with food access from actually encouraging this. Here evidence that the government and ZanuPF are taking The Perpetrators of Gross Human Rights Violations in the current violence in Zimbabwe.