More than 50 people have been killed in political violence since Zimbabwe's disputed March 29th elections and 25,000 have fled their homes, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said today.
Official figures showed Mr Tsvangirai beat President Robert Mugabe in the election, but failed to garner enough votes to avoid a second round poll, which has been set for June 27th.
Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change says Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party has launched a violent campaign against its supporters since the March elections in a bid to avoid another defeat next month. The ruling party denies the charge, and in turn blames the opposition for the violence.
"Over 50 Zimbabweans have been killed in the past 6 weeks. More than 25,000 people have been displaced. I've been saddened that Zimbabweans are willing to shed the blood of other Zimbabweans over political differences," Mr Tsvangirai told a news conference in the capital Harare.
"We are proceeding to compile the names of those who've committed these crimes. We will approach the attorney general to do something about it. I don't believe that anyone who has murdered someone should be forgiven, it is a criminal act to murder someone."
The MDC says police have taken a partisan stance in dealing with political violence, taking sides with ZANU-PF supporters.
In an apparent show of support for Mr Mugabe today, Zimbabwe's police chief Augustine Chihuri said the force had a duty to defend the country from what he called a threat from foreign powers and their local puppets.
Mr Mugabe frequently accuses the MDC of being in thrall to former colonial power Britain and other Western governments he says want to oust him over his seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks.
"The nation is presently facing a myriad of challenges and machinations by external forces and their internal sympathisers, who I normally call puppets," Mr Chihuri said.
"Its very existence and survival is threatened by these puppets and their handlers," he added, after conferring ranks on senior police officers in Harare.
Echoing Mr Mugabe's campaign theme for the June 27th run-off, Mr Chihuri said it was "instructive for all Zimbabweans to be clear in their understanding of what 100 per cent empowerment and total independence means".
"(It) means revamping and overhauling the existing system in the manufacturing and mining sectors as was done in the agricultural sector," he said, alluding to the white farm seizures and a similar drive to nationalise foreign owned mines and other businesses.
Mr Chihuri also accused businesses of hiking prices of goods and services in order to force a change of government.