AN ATTEMPT to kidnap an official of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was foiled on Tuesday morning, the party said.

Edith Mashanyire, the MDC’s security administrator, was accosted by four gunmen at the corner of Inez Terrace and George Silundika in Harare and told she was “under arrest”, the party said in a statement.

“Mashayire started screaming and the armed men started assaulting her all over the body with the weapons. Upon noticing that a huge crowd had surrounded them, the men sped off along Inez Terrace Road,” it added.

The party said it believed the attack was an attempt to “kidnap” Mashanyire, who works at the party’s headquarters – Harvest House – in the city.

The car used by the assailants has been described as a grey Isuzu twin cab KB300 with registration mark ABA 8742.

The MDC says it fears targeted attacks on party members by hard-line elements in President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party following its decision to temporarily suspend cooperation in the power sharing government formed in February.