U.S., British envoys freed after Zimbabwe attack

[Mugu]

NBC News and news services via MSNBC
Mugabe backers stop convoy at gunpoint, threaten to 'burn' diplomats alive

HARARE, Zimbabwe - U.S. and British diplomats were attacked Thursday as they tried to investigate political violence in Zimbabwe and a U.S. Embassy employee was beaten, American officials said.

The 12 members of the group were released about six hours after being stopped at a roadblock just north of Harare.

The White House demanded that Zimbabwe's government "explain its actions." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned the detention as "outrageous behavior."

"This is a regime that is very much out of step with international norms," she said. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. planned to raise the incident in the U.N. Security Council and would seek out the Zimbabwean delegation at a U.N.-organized food aid conference in Rome to protest.

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