Zimbabwe probes alleged sex abuse by war veterans

HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) -- Zimbabwe police said on Monday they were investigating a report that war veterans illegally occupying a white-owned farm abducted and sexually abused 10 schoolgirls on an estate near Harare at the weekend.

"We have received a report that 10 schoolgirls were abused. Investigations are under way. No one has been arrested yet," police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told Reuters.

The incident was first reported by farming sources who asked not to be identified.

"War veterans came and abducted 10 girls aged 12 to 13 from Blackfordby Primary School on Saturday and the girls were sexually abused," one farming source said, adding that police in the area had failed to act on a report.

Thousands of black self-styled veterans of the 1970s liberation war in the former Rhodesia have occupied close to 1,000 white-owned farms since February, saying they are reclaiming land taken from them under British colonial rule.

Another farm source said two teachers at the school were tortured by veterans waging a reign of terror on teachers and villagers since the June 24-25 parliamentary elections narrowly won by President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.

In its latest update, the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), representing 4,500 mainly white commercial farmers, said the situation on farms remained tense. One owner and his daughter in the Mutepatepa area had received a death threat from veterans.

Farmers rush to meet planting deadline

The Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA), whose members earn about a third of Zimbabwe's foreign currency, urged all stakeholders to work urgently towards restoring law and order within the next few weeks.

They said growers should complete preparations by mid-August for planting to start on time.

"Failure to achieve the 180 million (kg) core business crop target will jeopardize Zimbabwe's position as a leading supplier of quality flavorful flue-cured tobacco for the world's international brands of cigarettes," the ZTA said in a statement.

The CFU said it was still getting daily reports of violence despite last week's one-day national strike organized by the main Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and backed by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to press the government to restore order and end the farm occupations.

At least 31 people, mostly MDC supporters, were killed in violence linked to the farm occupations and political clashes before the elections in which ZANU-PF won 62 contested seats against 57 for MDC and one for a smaller opposition party. Mugabe denies his government sponsored the invasions to boost its electoral chances in the face of an acute economic crisis blamed on its mismanagement since assuming power at independence from Britain in 1980.

Mugabe announced last week that he was extending his controversial farm seizure programme to more than 3,000 farms from an initial 804 to resettle landless blacks.

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