ZDF soldiers beat Harare residents

Harare - Zimbabwean soldiers went house to house in a poor suburb of the capital Harare on Friday, beating up men and youths shortly before embattled President Robert Mugabe was due to give his first address to the nation since last month's elections. A Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa correspondent saw between 30 and 40 soldiers travelling in two army trucks ordering families to come out of their homes in Glenview suburb. The soldiers then told the women and the elderly to get back inside and turned on the men and boys, raining down blows on them with batons ... President Robert Mugabe, leader since 1980, was due to address the nation for the first time since March 29 elections the opposition claims he lost at an annual Independence Day rally in Harare's Gwanzura Stadium. A military display, a feast and a soccer match usually form part of the celebrations but most people said they had little appetite for merrymaking ... MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai claims he defeated Mugabe squarely. Mugabe's Zanu-PF party claims neither Tsvangirai nor Mugabe won outright and that a run-off is required ...