Tenth petrol bomb attack in Zimbabwe: Report

Apr 2, 2007, 6:51 GMT

Harare/Johannesburg - Unknown attackers in Zimbabwe threw petrol bombs at a store belonging to a businessman with links to the ruling ZANU-PF party, reports said Monday.

The attack on Gumbas Wholesalers in downtown Harare on Saturday night damaged office equipment worth 150 million Zimbabwe dollars (600,000 US dollars), state radio said.

'I am surprised by such action because Gumbas Wholesale offers reasonable prices and valuable service to people in spite of the political divide,' former ZANU-PF MP Christopher Chigumba, the owner of the store, was quoted as telling the official Herald newspaper.

It was the tenth petrol bomb attack in three weeks of mounting political tensions.

State media and President Robert Mugabe's government blame the attacks, which have also targeted a passenger train and police stations, on activists from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai.

The opposition party has dismissed the accusations, blaming the attacks on state agents bent on tarnishing the opposition to justify a government crackdown on its officials.

At least eight MDC officials arrested in police raids on their homes and the party's headquarters last week were expected to appear in court Monday. Lawyers and doctors say the group has been severely assaulted while in police custody.