Zim refugees attacked at camp
2008-07-07 18:31
Special Report
A classical music presenter for the BBC has been arrested and is in custody in Zimbabwe.
Harare - More than 350 people who were removed last week from the South African embassy in the Zimbabwean capital Harare after seeking sanctuary there from political violence were attacked early Monday at the camp, where they had been relocated.
About 20 men in military fatigues and balaclavas carrying shotguns burst in on the refugees at the state rehabilitation camp near the village of Ruwa about 30 kilometres east of Harare, where they had been assured last month by the South African embassy they would be secure, said eyewitnesses.
Eight people, three of them women, had to be taken to hospital after sustaining beatings, while 14 young men, the group's own unarmed sentries, were missing, said Tangai Takarusa, their spokesperson.
Safety 'on Mars'
"We have no place to go," he said. "Maybe someone will take us to Mars. Maybe we will feel safe there."
The 354 refugees at Ruwa were displaced from their homes in northern Zimbabwe by a countrywide wave of state-backed militia violence against supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) before the June 27 presidential run-off election.
The group had been sheltering at Harvest House, the MDC's headquarters in Harare, last month when police raided the building.
Most were able to flee and make their way to the South African embassy's car park.
After spending nearly five days in the open in midwinter, they were finally provided with food, water, sanitation, tents, blankets and mats by local non-governmental organisations.
On June 27, they were moved again by Zimbabwe authorities, with the agreement of the South African embassy, after obtaining assurances they would be protected by police.
Pandemonium
But at about midnight on Sunday, men in military fatigues appeared in the gallery of the squash court where the 137 men in the group were staying, said Takarusa.
"It was pandemonium, people were screaming. These men were beating people with the butts of their guns and kicking them."
"We forced our way out of one exit, but they were waiting for us there too, and beat us as we passed. We found the women also running away from where they had been attacked in their dormitories next door."
The lone policeman on duty hadn't responded to the outcry, he added.
The group fled into the bush, returning only at first light to discover eight of their number had been injured.
The party says ongoing violence against MDC supporters, has killed more than 100 people since the first round of voting for president on March 29.
- SAPA