Hundreds arrested in Zimbabwe capital

Zimbabwe’s security crackdown intensified Friday as riot police raided the opposition movement’s headquarters in the capital city of Harare, arresting hundreds of people, including many rural activists and their families who had fled recent violence in their home districts.

Opposition officials said more than 200 armed riot police raided the building and arrested about 300 people. Police said they had a warrant to search for “suspicious individuals.”

Among those arrested were victims of recent severe beatings as well as women and children, according to opposition officials and witnesses.

Police on Friday also raided the offices of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, an independent election monitoring group that last month released a projection based on 5% of the presidential vote that showed President Robert Mugabe losing to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

No arrests were reported in the raid, which stemmed from a warrant to search for “subversive material likely to overthrow the government using unconstitutional means,” the Associated Press reported.

Police seized documents and computers from the election group’s offices and those of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Almost a month after the vote, official presidential election results have yet to be released. The ruling ZANU-PF party lost control of parliament but has demanded a recount of 23 seats, which is underway. So far, recounts on three seats have confirmed the original results.

The United Nations Security Council will be briefed on the Zimbabwe situation next week, said South Africa’s U.N. ambassador, Dumisani Kumalo.

It was not immediately clear how many MDC officials were arrested in the party headquarters raid. Many MDC officials have been in hiding since last week and were not at the offices when the police arrived, said several officials and activists, who spoke by phone. But party spokesman Nelson Chamisa denied that any party officials were in hiding and said he was present during the raid.

Assistant Police Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena told the AP that authorities were searching for people responsible for crimes committed in rural areas. He said he could not confirm how many arrests were made.

Rural MDC activists have been forced to flee their homes in recent weeks as Zimbabwe’s military, backed by police, war veterans and youth militias, have launched a campaign against opposition supporters. Worst hit have been Mashonaland and Manicaland, which swung their support from ZANU-PF to the MDC.

The violence has been confirmed by Human Rights Watch and the Zimbabwe Assn. of Doctors for Human Rights.

According to an MDC security official reached by phone, 27 children ages 3 months to 13 years were among those arrested Friday, along with 40 women.

“When the police came, they tried to intimidate people. Some of the children were crying when they took them away,” security official Daniel Joseni said. “Some of the people have just been discharged from hospital. Some are in plaster casts. Some have lashes on their body.”

Abel Samakande, an MDC activist and unsuccessful parliament candidate from Mashonaland, was on his way to party headquarters on foot when he saw about 200 riot police loading people into buses and trucks.

“When I got there I stood from a distance,” he said in a phone interview. “I avoided the place because I knew I’d be taken too.”

“I saw injured people, some with wounds, some limping and being loaded in a police bus,” said Danny Phiri, an employee of a nearby bank, interviewed at the scene. “I tell you that even if ZANU-PF declares victory, how do they expect us to support them? We just cannot. We are sick and tired of this ZANU business.”

Another witness, Jasman Jaya, said police had beaten some of those they arrested.

Chamisa, the MDC spokesman, said police did not explain why people were arrested.

In related news, Angola’s state news agency ANGOP reported Friday that a Chinese ship carrying weapons and ammunition for Zimbabwe would be allowed to dock, but not to unload its cargo. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the ship would return home after failing to unload in any southern African port.

Zimbabwe’s state-owned Herald newspaper condemned Zimbabwe’s neighbors as “myopic stooges” for refusing to allow the cargo to be unloaded.

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robyn.dixon@latimes.com

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A special correspondent in Harare contributed to this report.