More than 50 Zimbabwean opposition supporters have been arrested after staging a strike, the party says.

Police have accused the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of trying to incite violence with their strike call, in protest at delayed poll results.

Correspondents say the strike had little impact as 80% of Zimbabweans are without a job.

The poll crisis is also likely to be raised at a UN Security Council session to be attended by some African leaders.

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Zimbabwe is not officially on the agenda.

But the BBC's Laura Trevelyan at the UN says the UK's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, along with officials and ministers from the US and France, are expected to raise the continuing stalemate in Zimbabwe - in public and in behind-the-scenes meetings.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon is keeping up the pressure, calling once again for the speedy release of the results of Zimbabwe's 29 March presidential election.

Our correspondent says as the Security Council meets, activists will fly a 3,000 sq ft banner above the UN, calling on President Mbeki to use his influence with Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe.

Agenda

The MDC's spokesman Nelson Chimisa said the more than 50 arrests were countrywide - relating to minor skirmishes in townships around the capital, Harare, and Bulawayo.

Zimbabwean police reported arresting 30 MDC supporters for obstruction and intimidation.

Those arrested were found either "barricading roads and stopping people from going to work", "obstructing the free movement of traffic" or intimidating people who went to work, police said.

The MDC's national executive is meeting to decide whether to continue with further strike action.

They had wanted people to stay at home until the presidential election results were released.

But local journalist Brian Hungwe in Harare says most banks, shops and offices opened as usual and armed police and soldiers were on patrol.

MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti told the BBC on Tuesday that two of its activists had been killed and 200 hospitalised after being assaulted by ruling party militias.

The party has said its supporters have been beaten up in rural areas where the MDC won.

Regional influence

The election commission says it cannot release the results of the presidential election until a recount in some areas is completed at the weekend.

Independent counts suggest MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the election but took less than 50% of the vote, meaning he would face a run-off.

His party says will not contest a run-off unless there is secure environment, with thorough international monitoring.

Mr Mbeki, who is chairing Wednesday's UN session, is the appointed regional mediator for Zimbabwe would prefer the issue to be kept out of the limelight.

South African ambassador to the UN, Dumisani Khumalo, said he felt there was no need for Zimbabwe to be discussed on the UN platform.

"We, the neighbours are doing something about Zimbabwe, you may not agree with it but we are doing something," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

But US ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, disagreed.

"It would be very surprising that we will have a meeting on Africa in which quite a number of African leaders will be there and not talk about the most important issue, the most urgent issue on that continent, being Zimbabwe."

(BBC)

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