More than 400 members of the youth militia closely linked to Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party on Monday invaded the village of Kodzwa in Mazowe Central constituency in Mashonaland Central and beat suspected opposition supporters, sources said.
The sources charged that Deputy Youth Minister Savior Kasukuwere was behind the attacks, as he had promised on the weekend to crush the opposition in the province. Kasukuwere could not be reached on his mobile phone to respond to the charge.
In Guruve, Mashonaland Central, a source said seven opposition activists from the constituencies of Guruve North, Guruve South and Mbire arrested over the weekend on charges of assaulting ZANU-PF supporters.
In Manicaland province, opposition provincial spokesman Pishai Muchauraya said the head of the Makoni Central party branch was arrested Monday morning after visiting the Nyazura police station to ask about members arrested on the weekend.
Muchauraya said soldiers and police arrested 41 Movement for Democratic Change activists on the weekend, going door-to-door beating and arresting people.
Newly-elected Mazowe Central parliamentarian Shepherd Mushonga told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that MDC officials now fear a repeat of an April attack on Chiweshe, Mazowe North, that left 13 villagers dead.