SOLDIERS kidnapped the two young children of a leading communist in Swaziland on Sunday, with activists accusing the regime of King Mswati III of war crimes.

Members of the armed forces stormed the home of Ayanda Ndwandwe in Lubombo region and abducted his children, aged three and five years old.

“The act of kidnapping children is a war crime which must be punished, and Mswati’s army will account for it,” Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) general secretary Thokozane Kenneth Kunene said.