Mugabe's Supporters Armed With Clubs And Stones Disrupt Opposition Rally In Zimbabwe

Harare, Zimbabwe (AHN) - Hundreds of supporters from the Zimbabwe's ruling party have reportedly attacked and blockaded the site where the opposition leader is due to hold an election rally, the reports said.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe will be facing the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who was detained on by the authorities, in the second presidential run-off on June 27.

Pro-Mugabe youth militia were carrying sticks and knives and occupied a stadium in the capital city of Harare, which the venue for the rally.

"Thousands of ZANU PF youth militia armed with iron bars, sticks and other weapons have attacked journalists and forced election observer teams to flee from the venue," the MDC said in a statement released on Sunday.

Witnesses said that ZANU-PF supporters started beating bystanders, stopped cars and harassed people outside Glamis stadium and threatened the crowds streaming to the event.

The rally was organized by the opposition leader after the High Court ruled on Saturday to allow the parties to campaign ahead of the election and ordered police not to block it.

The threat to the rally followed the accusation the opposition that at least 70 members supporting the MDC party have been killed and several people were beaten in the run-up to presidential run-off election.

However, Mugabe has condemned the opposition once again for wrongly blaming him about political violence in the country.

"They say this so that they can later say the elections were not free and fair. Which is a damn lie!" Mugabe told the state-run Herald newspaper.

Early June, Zimbabwean police had arrested Tsvangirai for a few hours for the second time this week, following which his party accused Mugabe of sabotaging their campaign to preserve his 28-year regime on power.

Mugabe has also tried to maintain pressure on his regime to gain more votes in the up coming election and has been desperately looking to get re-elected.

Recently, a senior Zimbabwean army official told soldiers to vote for President Robert Mugabe or quit.

Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have been displaced after the country's presidential and parliamentary elections.

Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and Tsvangirai's MDC party have accused each other of post-election violence.

The 84-year-old leader said that he will not allow the main opposition party to lead the country and that he was prepared to "go to war" for his country.