Harare - Veterans of Zimbabwe's war of independence occupying over 600 white-owned farms stepped up their campaign of violence and intimidation ahead of a court deadline on Monday for police to evict them.
Gerald Smith, 53, head of the opposition Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe and a former Zimbabwean member of parliament, was struck on the back of the head with an axe on Sunday night when a mob of 70 veterans smashed through the gate of his farmstead near Karoi, 180 kilometres north-west of Harare, and stormed his house.
"It was very nasty, but it could have been a lot worse. Who knows what is going to happen next? They told my labourers they are not finished with me," Smith said.
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A farm labourer near the town of Shamva, 70 kilometres east of the capital, also sustained head wounds when veterans assaulted him.
At another farm nearby, the owner and his labourers were forced into a barn and one of the workers was assaulted during a harangue by a veteran, who said: "We are going to kill you white people one by one."
The month-long confrontation between guerrillas loyal to President Robert Mugabe and the farmers continued after a high court judge on Friday ruled the farm invasions unlawful.
Farm workers chased the ex-guerrillas off farms in isolated incidents, brandishing farm implements and copies of a newspaper with a report of the judgement.
Police commissioner Augustine Chihuri was ordered on Friday by Judge Paddington Garwe to deploy men to evict the squatters by 6pm local time on Monday.
The judge told him to "disregard" orders from "any person holding executive powerin Zimbabwe" that he should not carry out the court's order in what has been seen as a direct reference to Mugabe, who had previously instructed Chihuri not to remove the veterans.
Chihuri referred reporters "to politicians for a response" when asked if he would obey the court's instructions.
Observers say the country is on the brink of a clash between its internationally respected judiciary and Mugabe, for the first time facing the prospect of defeat in parliamentary elections promised for the end of April.
"Nobody trusts Mugabe any more," Hitler Hunzvi, the head of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association said.
Hunzvi appeared on state television on Sunday night, telling veterans on a farm near the western city of Bulawayo that "they should never be persuaded to leave the farms," and that he had directed them to march on to several more in the area. - Sapa-DPA
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