Zimbabwe War Veterans Attack Anti-Mugabe Protesters; 15 Hurt

Political tensions erupted into violence Saturday when veterans of Zimbabwe’s independence war attacked protesters opposed to President Robert Mugabe. At least 15 people reportedly were injured.

The attack in the capital, Harare, came as Mugabe struggles to retain his 20-year hold on power. Opposition against Mugabe has grown amid recent illegal takeovers of white-owned farms, economic mismanagement, shortages and corruption.

Police first tried to prevent the legal demonstration and then initially stood by as the 3,500 protesters were bloodied with whips, clubs, rocks and bricks.

About 300 veterans of the bush war that led to the former British colony’s independence in 1980 appeared to single out whites among the protesters. An elderly white couple was battered to the ground and then kicked while police stood by.

In London, Peter Hain, the British minister for Africa, denounced the “thuggery orchestrated from on high.”

At least 15 people were badly hurt in the attack by the pro-Mugabe war veterans, said Brian Kagoro, a spokesman for the National Constitutional Assembly, a coalition of civic groups and political parties that organized the march.

The demonstration was called to protest the takeover of at least 600 white-owned farms by squatters led by black war veterans. Opposition leaders say Mugabe is refusing to have his security forces obey a court order for the squatters’ eviction because he wants to gain popular support ahead of parliamentary elections, which could be called in May.