Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com). Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it exclusively produces is in the public domain. March 28, 2007 Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Tsvangirai, Others Detained in Harare ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=16D46DA:A6F02AD83191E16039FE82C95AE5EB559574F7DCC14957C0 Spokesman for Movement for Democratic Change party leader says police raided party headquarters midday Wednesday as officials were holding series of meetings Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and other members of his party have been arrested at party headquarters in Harare. VOA Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from our Southern Africa Bureau in Johannesburg that the detentions come amid a violent crackdown on opposition activists. " hspace=2 src="/english/images/AFP_Zimbabwe_opposition_rally_eng_195_18feb07.jpg" width=210 vspace=2 border=0> Zimbabwe's leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, argues with a policeman after being refused to hold a rally in Harare, 18 Feb 2007 A spokesman for Morgan Tsvangirai's faction of the Movement for Democratic Change, George Sibotshiwe, says police raided the party headquarters midday Wednesday as officials were holding a series of meetings. "The police just came and raided the offices and took away all the staff including Morgan Tsvangirai in an open police truck. That's all the information that we have. We are not aware of their whereabouts. We are actually looking for them," he said. A party statement said Tsvangirai was due to hold a news conference on what was termed the escalating campaign of violence and intimidation by the Zimbabwean government. Robert Mugabe addresses supporters at his party's headquarters in Harare, 23 Mar 2007The detentions come as President Robert Mugabe was to fly to Tanzania for a summit meeting of the Southern Africa Development Community. Leaders of the 14-nation group called the meeting two weeks ago after Zimbabwean security forces detained and severely beat several dozen opposition leaders, including Tsvangirai, who were preparing to hold an anti-government rally. The Zimbabwean government accused the opposition of trying to destabilize the country and Mr. Mugabe later said the crackdown would continue as long as the opposition continues its activities. Spokesman Sibotshiwe says Zimbabwean security forces have detained dozens of MDC leaders in recent days and more than 200 party activists. Some subsequently have been found beaten far from their homes. Others still are not accounted for. "These sort of activities have been happening in the past few days," he said. "They have been targeting specific MDC leaders and picking them up from various points."  He added that he did not know the reasons for the detentions but said they seemed to be part of a general crackdown on pro-democracy activists. Popular discontent has been rising in Zimbabwe due to economic hardships caused by food shortages, rampant inflation and high unemployment. Senior leaders of the ruling ZANU-PF party are due to meet later this week to discuss a proposal by Mr. Mugabe to extend his presidential term by two years until parliamentary elections in 2010. .