The High Court ruled the opposition could hold a stadium rally but upheld a ban on a march - imposed by police who said they feared it could turn violent.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was briefly detained hours before the planned protest march.

The opposition want political reforms before elections scheduled for March.

After the court ruling, several hundred opposition protesters began walking from the headquarters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in central Harare.

Chanting and waving placards, they made their way towards the rally site, a stadium in the west of the capital.

But police told the demonstrators that they were breaking the court order, before firing tear gas and charging.

'Mockery'

Mr Tsvangirai was arrested at his home in Harare early on Wednesday morning, and released after five hours.

The MDC had mounted a legal appeal after the march was banned on Monday.

The party wants to protest at the state of Zimbabwe's failed economy and is demanding a new constitution before elections are held, probably in two months.

The MDC warned this month it would boycott the polls if it was not satisfied with preparations to ensure they would be free and fair.

Opposition spokesman Nelson Chamisa told the Associated Press news agency the ban on the march flew in the face of South African efforts to resolve the situation in Zimbabwe.

"It's a mockery of [South African] President [Thabo] Mbeki's efforts. It's a mockery of African solutions to African problems. It's a mockery to humankind," he said.

State radio said police believed Wednesday's march would not be peaceful and it was "not in the interest of public security for it to proceed".

The government last year said it would relax tough security laws that have been used to block political rallies.

(BBC)

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