Zimbabwe Oppn warns of bloodshed

African states must intervene in Zimbabwe to prevent widespread bloodshed, the Opposition said on Tuesday, accusing President Robert Mugabe of trying to provoke violence as a pretext for a state of emergency.

Movement for Democratic Change Secretary-General Tendai Biti said the ruling ZANU-PF had launched a violent campaign against opposition supporters following a stalemate over March 29 elections. “There’s been massive violence inside our country … MDC people are being beaten up … farms with remaining pockets of white people are being invaded. Farms with known MDC supporters are being invaded,” Biti told a news conference. “Militias are being rearmed, ZANU-PF supporters are being rearmed … The long and short of it is that there has been a complete militarisation of Zimbabwean society since the 29th of March 2008.”

Earlier, a farmers’ union said independence war veterans had evicted more than 60 white farmers from their land. The veterans have frequently been used as shock troops by Mugabe. “The situation is very severe. The evictions are continuing right round the country. We have over 60 farmers evicted as of this morning. Every couple of minutes my phone is ringing withanother case of eviction,” said Commercial Farmers’ Union President Trevor Gifford. The farmers were forced to leave their farms with only the clothes they were wearing, he added.