Share & more
In the most serious incident since government supporters began invading white owned farms more than six weeks ago, a policeman was shot and killed, on Tuesday, apparently by squatters, at a farm in Marondera, some 70 km from the capital Harare.
News reports said the political violence continued unabated on Wednesday as squatters backed by the ruling party besieged a homestead in northern Zimbabwe, leaving a white couple holed up inside for a second day. On Tuesday, the owner of the farm, a prominent opposition member, was beaten with sticks and pickaxe handles. The incidents followed violence at the weekend when government supporters attacked a peaceful opposition
demonstration in Harare.
The reports said police did not intervene at the besieged farm and that some squatters were believed to have stolen firearms from a detachment of six police officers they outnumbered and surrounded Tuesday, he said. At least three people have died in recent political violence, the main opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change reported on Wednesday.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions