Another week of chaos in Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Outgoing U.S. Ambassador Christopher Dell ended his three-year term in Zimbabwe with a message for the citizens of the troubled southern African country: "Keep the faith. Things will change soon."

Dell, an outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe's human- and democratic-rights record, left Saturday for his next post as ambassador of Afghanistan.

Dell has predicted economic collapse in Zimbabwe by the end of the year, contending the government is "doing regime change to itself" through economic mismanagement and a crackdown on prices.

The government has accused Western nations of backing a political and economic campaign for "regime change" to try to oust longtime ruler Mugabe, 83.

Zimbabweans are bracing for another week of economic strife as the United States and Australia have issued travel warnings to their citizens.

Price cuts of at least 50 percent — ordered by the government on June 26 in an attempt to curb rampant inflation — have led to acute food shortages and near riots as cheaper goods went on sale.

Orders to slash the price of gasoline to less than half the import cost saw buses taken out of service. Chaos on commuter routes is expected to worsen at the start of the work week today.

The U.S. warned of state-sponsored violence and said the price crackdown raised security concerns. In an advisory released Thursday, the State Department asked Americans in Zimbabwe to minimize travel and, where practical, avoid public places and gatherings.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs warned some 700 of its nationals living and working in Zimbabwe that the security situation could "deteriorate quickly and without warning."

In Harare, churchgoers lined up for hours at bus stops Sunday before many scrambled aboard open trucks and into private cars offering rides. Bus operators said subsidized gas offered by the government either ran out or caused chaotic jams of honking minibus taxis at gas stations.

Shelves in stores remained bare of cornmeal, bread, meat and other staples. Shoppers mobbed a suburban supermarket after word spread by mobile phone that it received a delivery of a few dozen loaves of bread Sunday. Another supermarket filled empty shelves with bundles of firewood normally sold by vendors on the street during daily power outages.

Shoppers have stampeded clothing and shoe stores, as well. One Harare electronics store was overwhelmed Thursday by shoppers who carried away television sets and other electrical appliances for a third of the listed price.