Hundreds of ruling party militia members took position throughout the capital yesterday as Zimbabwe braced for bloody confrontation following the opposition's calls for supporters to march to demand the president step down.
President Robert Mugabe's government has vowed to crush the action, saying a court order banning anti-government demonstrations was still in force and that further protests would be stopped, state television reported.
It said leaders of the Movement for Democratic Change faced contempt of court charges and would be imprisoned if protests went ahead yesterday.
Members of the ruling party militia, wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the words, "No to Mass Action" spread throughout Harare. Some took position in the city's main square, where the opposition leaders have called on supporters to gather.
About 100 ruling party militia members were seen marching down one of the main streets leading to the square, in an apparent attempt to block off the area.
Two military helicopters hovered over downtown Harare from dawn.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena, speaking on state radio yesterday, warned that people "bent on causing disorder will be dealt with decisively."
Reinforcements of police and troops have been deployed across the country.
Yesterday, the police took no action against members of the ruling Zanu-PF militias as they fanned out across Harare.
Nathan Shamuyarira, the ruling party's secretary for information, told state media that the Zanu-PF's politburo, its top policy making bureau, recommended "stringent security measures" to stop the protests.
"The time has now come for a showdown with the [opposition] MDC," Shamuyarira told the state Herald newspaper.
Some of the ruling party militias were seen shouting at people on the street, demanding that shops adhering to a general strike in Harare be reopened.
Most businesses, however, in Harare remained closed yesterday.
The strike shut down much of the troubled southern African country's economy this week although government forces have brutally cut down planned street demonstrations.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has described yesterday as the "D-Day" of this declared week-long protest.
"You have been harassed, abused, tortured and brutalized. Your leaders have been abducted and arrested. Rise up in your millions to demonstrate publicly your utmost disapproval of this violent dictatorship," the opposition said in advertisements and fliers calling for mass marches yesterday.
The party said it would not be deterred by the violent crackdown by riot and police under orders to crush all signs of protest. It called on Zimbabweans to gather in central squares and downtown districts across the country yesterday to force Mugabe from office after 23 years in power.
"Don't be afraid," the notices exhorted. "Victory is in sight."
Security forces using rifle butts, volleys of live fire, tear gas and water cannons have so far prevented any large scale street demonstrations.
Independent human rights monitors said scores of people were injured as police and troops patrolled impoverished township suburbs and, along with ruling party vigilantes, assaulted suspected opponents, often raiding their homes at night.
RSS