Mobs burned a bus, blocked roads and stoned motorists in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare today on the first day of a national strike against President Robert Mugabe.
Factories and shops were shut as thousands of workers joined the two-day mass action called by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in the first major challenge to Mr Mugabe since his controversial re-election a year ago.
MDC officials said the two-day protest would help to marshal international focus on Mr Mugabe's "repressive rule" at a time when the world spotlight is on Iraq's Saddam Hussein.
"People are sick and tired of this regime and this is their message," said an MDC spokesman, who estimated 80 per cent of businesses were affected by the strike.
Many shops and factories in Harare's main industrial districts were closed today, but some government offices and banks were still open downtown.
Witnesses in the southern city of Bulawayo, an opposition stronghold, also reported most businesses were closed.
But state radio called the strike a flop with only white-owned companies affected. A government spokesman said: "The MDC is desperate and they are failing desperately".
Police said mobs began roaming through Harare after midnight, blocking roads into the city centre and hurling stones at passing motorists.