Zimbabwe arrests US citizen over arms -state radio

HARARE, Oct 8 (Reuters) Zimbabwe police have arrested a US citizen on charges of smuggling and illegal possession of arms and ammunition, state radio reported today.

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation said the man was arrested at Victoria Falls airport on Friday when he tried to board a plane with two pistols and 300 rounds of ammunition.

Police and officials at the US embassy in Harare were not immediately for comment, but ZBC said the American was expected to be charged in court in the northwestern town of Hwange in the coming days.

The man arrived in Harare on September 21 and had been travelling around the country, the radio said.

The Zimbabwean government is battling a severe economic crisis many which critics blame on President Robert Mugabe's policies.

But Mugabe, 83, and Zimbabwe's ruler since independence from Britain says the crisis -- which has left the southern African state with the world's highest inflation rate of 6,600 per cent -- is a result of sabotage and economic sanctions by Western powers, including the United States, who are trying to oust him.

REUTERS TB AS0127