Zimbabwe conditions worsening

2008-11-03

Conditions for ordinary Zimbabweans are growing ever more desperate as the political crisis continues, says human rights group Amnesty International.

In a report, Amnesty warns that many people are at risk of extreme hunger after a failed agricultural season.

It says many victims of the political violence that followed the March elections were subsistence farmers.

Amnesty has released video footage of a farmer said to have been beaten up by secret police earlier in October.

Some famers have been crippled and are now unable to work the land, the group says, leaving them dependent on food aid.

Amnesty says much of the violence was state-sponsored, often perpetrated by members of the security forces in government vehicles.

The report, Zimbabwe - Time for Accountability, urges southern African leaders to resolve the political crisis.

Although a power-sharing agreement was signed six weeks ago, there is deadlock over the allocation of cabinet posts.

"Every day that passes without a political solution, the living conditions for ordinary Zimbabweans become more and more desperate," says Amnesty International's Zimbabwe researcher Simeon Mawanza.

Mr Mawanza warned that "the most vulnerable Zimbabweans are at risk of extreme hunger".

"If we think the food situation in Zimbabwe is bad now, just wait until the end of this year, when half of the population is likely to need aid," he said.

Victims of beatings

Amnesty said the majority of victims it had interviewed said they could name their attackers, most of whom were in the security forces, so-called war veterans or local activists with the ruling Zanu-PF.

In video footage released by Amnesty, a 26-year-old farmer and MDC supporter recalls an attack earlier in October, which left her with internal injuries.