Zimbabwe’s doctors have been overwhelmed by the burden of serious physical trauma in recent weeks, as thousands of opposition supporters have been systematically beaten by militiamen loyal to Robert Mugabe.

The Zimbabwean Association of Doctors for Human Rights reported last week that its members had seen 1007 such patients during May, of whom 119 had fractures, in many cases multiple or compound fractures.

“There has been a gross surge in both the quantity and severity of injury. Fracture cases alone increased threefold in number from April to May,” the association reported in an email sent to supporters abroad. “It is certain that a far …