6 been killed, thousands injured and 7,000 displaced, although the levels of violence varied—sometimes considerably—from one part of the country to another. As in many elections, there were occasions when violence was the result of unplanned clashes between groups of party supporters. But for the most part it appears to us that the violence which disfigured this campaign was employed systematically as part of a strategy to diminish support for the opposition parties. The Observer Group also made significant comments about the pre-election period: It was the violence and intimidation which most concerned our Group over the weeks leading up to the elections. We received a substantial number of reports on violent incidents and ourselves met with many victims of violence. We directly experienced the climate of fear and uncertainty which characterised this election in many parts of the country, especially in some rural areas, and we saw for ourselves that in some districts intimidation prevented open political campaigning, notably by opposition parties and candidates. While the picture was not uniform, we can only conclude that incidents of violence and threats impaired the freedom of choice of the electorate. In many cases of reported violence the authorities responsible for maintaining law and order failed to take action to apprehend those responsible. This is a serious situation. We deplore all incidents of politically-motivated intimidation and violence and look to those in authority in Zimbabwe to ensure that the rule of law is observed. We especially regret that in some districts parliamentary candidates, notably from opposition parties and independents, were themselves victims of political violence. Obstacles were put in the way of opposition groups attempting to exercise freedom of expression and movement, including the holding of political rallies, and generally to campaign freely. 4.1.3 The European Union Observation Mission The EU sent a very large observation mission that arrived in the country several weeks before the election, with observers deployed all around the country. The EU Mission received 248 reports of violence themselves, but only witnessed 10 incidents directly. The EU, similar to the AMANI Trust, made an attempt to indicate the responsibility for the violence. EU findings on election violence (source: HRRU.2001) EU report findings Zanu (PF) Complaints submitted by 4.0% Responsibility for violence reported 68.3% Victims belonged to 5.8% MDC 41.0% 7.0% 52.7%