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Opposition Official Arrested in Zimbabwe
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Bvudzijena denied that Tsvangirai had been arrested, saying that he had been stopped at a roadblock and asked to accompany the police to their station for his safety.
Tsvangirai said at a news conference Wednesday that he was confident of winning the election despite the challenges.
"The people of Zimbabwe made a resolve on March 29 that they would vote out Robert Mugabe," he said. "After that resolve, another election was called for June 27, and the incumbent has embarked on a retributive exercise where he attacks those same people who voted for me on that day."
Meanwhile, U.S. officials said Thursday that Zimbabwean authorities had seized a truckload of food aid meant for schoolchildren and distributed it to Mugabe supporters at a political rally.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, which contracted the truck, said in a statement that a group of military and police officers, as well as war veterans, threatened the driver, who fled to a nearby police station for protection.
"This unconscionable behavior must stop," said USAID administrator Henrietta H. Fore. "It is unacceptable for the government of Zimbabwe to steal food from hungry children."
State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said he did not know when the embassy first reported the June 6 incident or when it was made public.
Last week, Zimbabwe's government banned aid organizations from distributing food in the country, with Mugabe accusing the groups of inciting rural voters to bring down his government. About 4 million Zimbabweans, a third of the population, are dependent on food aid.
"We call on the government, the Zimbabwean authorities, to immediately reinstate permission for all aid agencies to resume their life-saving assistance," Gallegos said. "Failure to do so constitutes the government of Zimbabwean complicity in the assault, suffering and deaths of innocent citizens."
