April 22 (Bloomberg) -- The Zimbabwean government said the opposition's claim that President Robert Mugabe's administration is waging a violent campaign to remain in power is a ploy to encourage foreign intervention.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has said its supporters have been attacked by backers of Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front since the March 29 elections that cost the ruling party its majority in the House of Assembly. Ten people have been killed as Mugabe supporters forced residents of rural areas out of their homes, the MDC said. The results of a concurrent presidential vote haven't been released.

``People who are victims of violence have only to report to the police for action to be taken,'' Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said today in an interview from the capital, Harare, adding that he was only aware of one death. ``It isn't impossible that the MDC is behind any violence as part of its propaganda campaign. They want international intervention.''

The MDC said it won the presidential election with a clear majority, while backers of Mugabe said none of the four contestants won more than 50 percent, necessitating a runoff.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai met with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Accra, Ghana, yesterday and held talks today with Ghanaian President John Kufour.

Discussions `Sympathetic'

The discussions were ``very productive and very sympathetic to the fact that the people of Zimbabwe are being short changed,'' Tsvangirai told reporters in Accra.

Tsvangirai has also visited several southern African leaders and said he will only participate in a second-round presidential election, if one is called, should international observers be allowed to monitor it.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is conducting a recount of the votes for 23 of the 210 House of Assembly seats, which could hand the majority back to Zanu-PF. The MDC says the violence in rural areas is designed to intimidate people into backing Mugabe in a runoff.

``We hope that shortly there will be clarity in the election results'' and the ``democratic voice of the Zimbabwean people will be heard,'' European Commission spokesman John Clancy told a Brussels press conference today.

Risk of `Genocide'

Church leaders in Zimbabwe said the country risks ``genocide'' unless there is international intervention to arrest the deteriorating political and security situation. In an e-mailed statement from Harare, they appealed to the United Nations, the African Union and the Southern African Development Community to provide urgent assistance.

``We warn the world that if nothing is done to help the people of Zimbabwe from their predicament, we shall soon be witnessing genocide similar to that experienced in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and other hot spots in Africa and elsewhere,'' leaders from churches including the Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian faith said.

A Chinese ship carrying arms destined for Zimbabwe may return to China, the Associated Press reported, citing Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu. The vessel last week fled from the South African port of Durban after a court order allowing the seizure of its cargo was granted because of fears the weapons would be used to intimidate Zimbabwean voters before a potential presidential runoff.

Labor Union Refusal

Labor unions in South Africa said their members would refuse to unload the ship because of their concerns the weapons would be used against people who supported the MDC in the recent elections.

The An Yue Jiang applied to refuel at the Namibian port of Walvis Bay today, the Legal Assistance Centre, a Windhoek-based human rights group, said on its Web site. The ship is currently headed for the Angolan capital, Luanda, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Wang Kun Hui, a representative of Cosren Shipping Agency Ltd. in Durban.

Wang told Bloomberg that he could give no further information about the An Yue Jiang's destination and denied telling AFP it was going to Angola. He said his company was not the vessel's agent, as it hadn't docked in Durban.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Latham via the Johannesburg bureau at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 22, 2008 11:48 EDT