Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe says liberation war veterans are ready to take up arms to prevent the opposition winning a June 27th presidential run-off.
The state-owned Heraldnewspaper quoted Mr Mugabe as telling supporters at a rally yesterday that the veterans had asked him if they should be ready to fight.
"They came to my office after the (disputed March 29) elections and asked me: 'Can we take up arms?'," Mr Mugabe said.
The Heraldsaid Mr Mugabe told the war veterans that he did not want the country to go back to war but said Zimbabwe would never be ruled by the opposition MDC, which won the first round.
"It will never happen that this land which we fought for should be taken by the MDC so that they can give it back to our former oppressors, the whites," the paper quoted him as saying.
Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, human rights groups and Western powers accuse Mr Mugabe of unleashing a brutal campaign to win the run-off.
Mr Tsvangirai says 66 of his followers have been murdered but Mr Mugabe, who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980, blames the MDC for violence that has caused widespread international concern.
Earlier, the MDC said Zimbabwean police impounded two campaign buses used by Tsvangirai in the latest action against the opposition leader in the election campaign
Mr Tsvangirai, who has been detained four times in the past week and has had his own vehicle confiscated, would continue the campaign, MDC spokesman George Sibotshiwe said.
The third most senior MDC leader, Tendai Biti, was arrested on his return from abroad yesterday and faces a treason charge which could carry the death sentence.
His lawyers said today they have still not been given access to him. An urgent application asking the High Court to intervene was made on Friday, lawyer Lewis Uriri said.
The MDC said it was very concerned about Mr Biti 24 hours after he was arrested.
The United States has called for urgent UN Security Council talks on Zimbabwe because it said Mr Mugabe had ignored international calls to end political violence.
But diplomats said South Africa, supported by China and Russia, opposed Security Council involvement.
Mr Mugabe and ZANU-PF were defeated in March for the first time since independence in 1980 but Mr Tsvangirai failed to win the presidential vote outright, necessitating a second round.