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EPA
Protesters burning tires in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare
According to Zimbabwe's opposition, its members have been victims of a brutal crackdown in response to violent protests against a sharp rise in the price of gasoline.
Nelson Chamisa, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, said a large number of its members had been arrested, including four MPs.
He added that security forces attacked families at home.
The government accused the MDC of stirring up violence. Rights groups say at least 12 people were killed, but this has not been officially confirmed.
The union coordination group that called for the protests, the Zimbabwe Trade Union Congress, said its leader, Japhet Moyo, was also arrested.
Earlier, it appeared that South Africa had rejected a request from Zimbabwe for an emergency loan of $ 1.2 billion (932 million pounds sterling) in December.
The government hoped that the money would help stabilize the economy and solve fuel shortages in the country.
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Reuters
The UN has called on the government to end the "excessive use of force"
On Sunday, the government declared that the actions of the security forces were only "a taste of things to come".
The news of the violent repression has appeared despite the Internet cuts, including messaging and social media applications.
Addressing the state-owned newspaper, the Sunday Mail, a spokesman for the presidency accused the MDC of the violence that accompanied the protests.
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"MDC leaders have always insisted that they would use violent actions on the street to reverse the results of [last year’s] ballot, "said George Charamba.
The opposition rejected a court ruling in August confirming that President Mnangagwa had beaten Mr. Chamisa.
What does the opposition say?
"Nothing justifies the presence of soldiers armed with live ammunition, machine guns, machine guns, AK47 on the street, who beat citizens," Chamisa told the BBC.
"People are approached at home, they are taken out of their homes with their families even when they are sleeping … many people have been arrested for no apparent reason."
MDC National President Thabitha Khumalo said she was hidden after the police and army showed up at her home at night.
Why has the price of fuel gone up?
The announcement by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa of a sharp increase in the price of gasoline a week ago provoked angry protests in the capital Harare and in the city of Bulawayo, in the south-west of the country.
Rising prices were intended to address shortages caused by increased fuel consumption and "widespread" illegal trade, he said.
But many Zimbabweans, exhausted by years of economic hardship, suddenly discovered that they could not even afford to take the bus ticket.
New prices mean Zimbabwe now has the most expensive fuel in the world, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com
Many believe that the president, who has toured Russia and Asian countries, does not keep his promises after his election last year in contested polls.
He fought to revive the economy, which is experiencing high inflation while wages stagnate.
The president has now cut his tour abroad to return home "in light of the economic situation," he said on Twitter.
Internet access was intermittent throughout the week, but users could not use social media or the WhatsApp messaging platform, which has become a common means of sharing information.
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