Harare: Pressure mounted on Zimbabwe today to admit foreign observers to oversee a presidential election run-off amid fresh claims pro-government militias were instilling terror in the countryside.

As the opposition alleged 30 supporters had now been killed and a union chief said 40,000 farmworkers and their dependents made homeless, authorities played down the levels of violence.

Meanwhile, six days since results from an inconclusive March 29 presidential poll were announced, there was still no word on when a second round would take place nor whether the opposition Movement for Democratic Change would participate.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who believes he secured an overall majority over veteran President Robert Mugabe in the first round, has argued his rival is trying to spread fear in the population to ensure victory in a run-off.

In its latest death toll, the MDC said it now had information 30 supporters had been killed by Mugabe supporters in attacks in rural areas.

"What is worrying is that each day comes with gory stories of how human beings are being treated," said MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa.

"This is why we are appealing on bended knees to the international community to assist in ending the carnage."

In a press conference in South Africa, the leader of a Zimbabwe farmworkers union said that 40,000 people had been driven off their land either as a result of direct attacks by militias or through fear.

Source : PTI