Zimbabwe deploys armed police after rally halted

HARARE, Feb 18 (Reuters) Zimbabwe riot squads fired water cannon to drive people off the streets of a troubled township in the capital Harare tonday after a major opposition rally was stopped.

Reporters saw at least 10 trucks full of heavily-armed police driving around Harare's Highfield township, where they had earlier arrested dozens of people and sealed off a sports ground where the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was due to hold a rally.

The police also mounted roadblocks in the township, and searched cars and questioned motorists.

Some residents said before the armoured patrols moved in, some youths had earlier pelted police foot patrols with stones, and the township's dusty streets were strewn with rocks.

Zimbabwe's High Court yesterday ordered President Robert Mugabe's government to allow the rally, saying the police had been given adequate notice.

REUTERS PDM KP1736