Zimbabweans seek U.S. mission’s aid

More than 300 frightened Zimbabweans sought shelter at the U.S. Embassy in Harare on Thursday, part of a wave of people fleeing what opposition activists describe as continued beatings, threats, house burnings and killings by militias loyal to President Robert Mugabe.

Activists reported that most of the 900 command bases set up by the ruling party to intimidate the population into voting for Mugabe in last week’s presidential runoff were still operating. They said nine people had been killed since Mugabe’s victory, taking the total number of dead in election-related violence to 95.

They also said people in some areas were beaten for not voting; in others, they said, people were punished for too many spoiled ballots or too many votes against Mugabe.

The president was reelected June 27 with more than 85% of the votes cast, a result that brought international opprobrium upon Mugabe. The African Union used a just-concluded summit to urge Mugabe to open negotiations for a government of national unity with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, whose candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, pulled out of the presidential runoff because of brutality against his supporters.

Mugabe dismissed the calls for a unity government. And Tsvangirai has ruled out any negotiations until the violence against MDC activists stops and the governing party’s command bases are disbanded.

“They are targeting the leaders of the MDC,” said Huggins Kashiri, 30, an opposition member in Manicaland, a rural area where some of the worst campaign violence occurred. Kashiri said war veterans and soldiers have set up illegal roadblocks to search cars and hunt down MDC activists, in addition to burning more than 250 houses in the area.

“Since the election there have been many people beaten,” he said. “Killings are still happening.”

Besides Manicaland, violence was said to be continuing in Masvingo and Mashonaland, which were also among the most violent regions during the campaign. Timikia Dziva, an MDC activist in Masvingo province, said displaced people had been told they would be “dealt with” if they went back to their houses.

“They’re just threatening them that if they go home, they will beat them or kill them,” Dziva said.

An opposition spokesman said 500 people had sought safety in party offices in Mutare, eastern Zimbabwe. And in Harare, the capital, U.S. Ambassador James McGee told the Associated Press that American officials were working with aid agencies to find accommodation for more than 300 people who left MDC offices in hopes of finding refuge on embassy grounds.

One woman went into labor on the sidewalk outside the U.S. mission.

An MDC activist from Masvingo, who asked not to be identified for fear of violent reprisal, said the number of dead in his region could be higher because the governing party’s command bases deep in rural areas were no-go zones for the opposition. He said 90 people had fled their homes in the Masvingo area.

“The militias are continuing from where they left off,” he said.

“They’re saying MDC supporters must be removed.”