The descent of Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe regime into thuggery has accelerated as his hold on power slips in the face of total economic collapse.

But the news of the brutal mass murder of illegal miners by machine gun-wielding soldiers in helicopters has shocked the world.

According to The Guardian newspaper: “Zimbabwean air force helicopter swept over the hundreds of fleeing illegal diamond miners and mowed down dozens with machine-gun fire.

“After that the police arrived and unleashed the dogs that tore into the diggers, killing some and mutilating others. “The police fired teargas to drive the miners out of their shallow tunnels and shot them down as they emerged. ”

This is a description of one incident and there have been several similar shootings over the last month.

The exact death toll is not known, but estimates run as high as 140 according to the The Guardian.

But this is not about an exact body count.

It is about the fact that Mugabe’s military has become a grave danger to the people of that blighted country.

They appear to be rapidly descending from state security thugs into a brigand army-for-hire.

Instead of arresting and prosecuting the illegal miners, they are unilaterally executing them.

The authorities are either powerless to do anything about it or don’t care.

The right to mine the diamond fields resides with the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation according to The Guardian.

Perhaps this is why Mugabe and his cronies are silent — or worse, behind these brutal killings.

The world must wake up to this human rights tragedy and take action to protect the people of Zimbabwe against Mugabe.