Disturbances are reported in Zimbabwe following a steep rise in petrol prices.

Riot police have been deployed in Chitungwiza, a dormitory town about twenty kilometres from Harare, after buses and cars were set on fire and barricades placed on the roads.

Some shops and factories in Harare itself have closed in case of trouble and there are unconfirmed reports that police have blocked major roads into the capital to prevent rioters reaching the city centre.

The sixty-seven per cent increase in fuel costs was prompted by a sharp drop in the value of the Zimbabwean dollar.

Analysts have blamed the currency fallon the cost of maintaining thousands of Zimbabwean troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo.