Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's party said yesterday it would deploy more war veterans to campaign in some opposition areas ahead of a presidential election run-off marred by violence.

Opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai accuses Zanu-pf of widespread attacks on his supporters ahead of the June 27 vote, but says he is still confident of victory after beating Mr Mugabe in the first round.

Zanu-pf officials in the southern Masvingo province, where the ruling party lost several parliamentary seats in rural districts traditionally considered safe, told Zimbabwe state TV they had stepped up their campaign against "troublesome spots where MDC structures had taken root".

"We are setting up units of war veterans to go to those areas to fan out the MDC, to campaign for President Mugabe, to confront and talk to some company managers who are openly supporting these MDC structures," said retired Major Alex Mudavanhu, Zanu-pf chairman for Masvingo.

"We are going to tell people that Zanu-pf is not going to lose this election," he said.

Mr Mugabe's guerrilla fighters from the 1970s independence war and ruling party youth brigades are regularly deployed as political shock troops against the opposition and have recently been threatening another bush war if Mr Mugabe loses.