By Nelson Banya

HARARE (Reuters) – Armed supporters of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe have occupied the area where opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was to hold an election rally on Sunday, Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change said.

“Thousands of armed (ruling party) ZANU-PF youth militia have violently occupied the MDC rally venue at Harare showgrounds to disrupt the rally, which the High Court granted,” the MDC said in a statement.

The two men are scheduled to face each other in a run-off election for president on June 27 after months of high political tension marked by opposition allegations of violence and intimidation by Mugabe’s supporters.

A Reuters correspondent said pro-Mugabe youth were carrying sticks and knives at the venue for the rally, which police had banned. A High Court in Harare on Saturday overturned the ban.

Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in a March 29 election but fell short of the outright majority needed to avoid a run-off, according to official results.

Tsvangirai, according to a spokesman, is now considering pulling out of the run-off because of what the MDC says are strong-arm tactics by Mugabe’s men.

The MDC says at least 70 of its members have been killed since March in a campaign of intimidation by Mugabe’s government to scare opponents and voters. The veteran Zimbabwean leader blames the opposition for the bloodshed.

Tsvangirai has been detained five times during his election campaign and MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti remains in custody facing a treason charge and other offenses. Biti faces a death sentence if convicted.  Continued…