Mugabe Allies Accused of Rape During Vote

(AP)  International human rights activists say supporters of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe used rape to terrorize the political opposition during last year's contested elections.

AIDS-Free World, led by former UNAIDS envoy Stephen Lewis, released a 64-page report Thursday that documents 380 rapes it said were committed by over 200 Mugabe loyalists.

Some 70 women told the group how they were raped, kept as sex slaves and forced to watch their daughters being raped because they were linked to the opposition.

The Movement for Democratic Change joined Mugabe in a unity government in February but many fear the coalition will collapse because of a lack of cooperation from Zimbabwe's longtime ruler.

There was no immediate response from Mugabe's party.

[mypatch]

THIS AN AWFUL ATROCITY. What in the world are these people that they can abuse the people like that. Why is it always the women that suffer? These people are cowards. It's easy to abuse the young and the women. No wonder everyone wants to migrate to other countries that are civilized. These people are mere head hunting savages as they were in the past. They just wear suits and uniforms now

[amerilatino]

Nothing but a thug government, like that of many third world countrys, that rapes not only it's people but the resources of it's nation as well. The U.S. government needs to defer from repeating the same cloak-and-dagger mistakes of the past century and stop supporting these regimes, otherwise it will come back to bite us in the behind as the Afghanistan/Al-Qaeda/Taliban/CIA fiasco of the Reagan Doctrine did.

[TexFandango]

The US Government has been an international leader in applying sanctions on the Mugabe regime. Along with the UK, it has frozen bank accounts; limited the international travel of Mugabe associates; created penalties for those doing business with Mugabe's friends and family; and, limited aid to only emergency medical and food assistance to the victims of that heinous regime.