Zimbabwe Police Stop U.S., U.K. Envoys

The United Nations on Tuesday warned that post-election violence in Zimbabwe risked reaching crisis levels, as police stopped a convoy of ambassadors on a tour to investigate attacks on opposition supporters.

Police demanded that the diplomats - including the British and U.S. envoys, who have had tense relations with the government - prove they had official permission to visit hospitals and an alleged torture camp.

U.S. Ambassador James McGee insisted the convoy be allowed through. It passed though after about an hour, led by a police car; it was unclear where it was headed.

Japanese, EU, Dutch and Tanzanian envoys and an Associated Press reporter were also in the convoy, which was stopped on the edge of Harare as it was returning to the capital.

The incident happened just after the U.N. resident representative in Zimbabwe spoke of the escalating tensions in both rural and urban areas.

"There are indications that the level of violence is escalating in all these areas and could reach crisis levels," Agustino Zacarias told reporters.

He said the violence was preventing U.N. humanitarian agencies from reaching people in need and had forced them to scale down operations.

Zacarias said "several people" had died, hundreds had been hospitalized and many more displaced by the violence, which was blamed on "some elements of the security forces, youth militias and war veterans and gangs of supporters."

Zacarias said there was an emerging pattern of violence targeting rural supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Non-governmental organizations and civil rights defenders were being targeted, Zacarias said.

The U.N. representative's comments echoed those made by U.S. Ambassador McGee in an open letter to media organizations published Monday in the state-run Herald newspaper. The letter accused President Robert Mugabe's party of orchestrating violence to intimidate opposition supporters before a runoff presidential election.

McGee said the U.S. government has received confirmed reports of at least 20 deaths and more than 700 incidents of violence resulting in more than 200 people being hospitalized since the first round of voting March 29.

The paper in turn blasted McGee, accusing him of "very scandalous acts" and of breaching diplomatic procedure by speaking out on the violence that has riven Zimbabwe since the first voting round.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the most votes in the first round, but not the simple majority needed to avoid a runoff, according to official results.

Observers inside and outside Zimbabwe have questioned whether a second round could be free and fair with the opposition unable to campaign freely because of attacks and threats. No date for a runoff has been set.