A huge cargo of Chinese guns and ammunition sits marooned aboard a ship off South Africa.

But dockers in South African port of Durban won't unload the 77 tons of mortars, ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.

They know that the armoury will almost certainly be used in a brutal crackdown on Mugabe's opponents.

Yesterday Britain, the U.S. and other western nations were preparing to call for urgent United Nations action to bring in a worldwide ban on arms sales to Zimbabwe.

The stand-off in South Africa has returned the world's attention the election crisis in Zimbabwe and Mugabe's desperate efforts to remain in power.

But it is also yet another international embarrassment for Beijing, following the Olympic protests, and highlights China's increasing involvement in Africa.

Earlier this week, Chinese troops were seen on the streets of Zimbabwe's third largest city Mutare.

The order for the shipment was finalised on April 1, three days after last month's elections.

It emerged yesterday that this was when talks on a peaceful transition of power from Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party to the opposition broke down.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai revealed in a TV interview that after the election on March 29 envoys of Mugabe's party approached his Movement for Democratic Change to discuss forming a government of national unity.

Tsvangirai hinted he would be prepared to accept some Zanu-PF people in the government but the talks broke down after several days.

The South African government said the paperwork for the shipment was in order and the ship, An Yue Jiang, has been cleared to dock and unload.

These include nearly 3million rounds of ammunition for small arms and AK-47s, about 3,500 mortars and mortar launchers, as well as 1,500 rockets for rocket-propelled grenades.

Gordon Brown, George Bush and other leaders were briefed on the arrival of the weapons ship but British officials were reluctant to criticise China before confirmation that the shipment was from Beijing and destined for the Zimbabwe government.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The European Union has a ban on the sale of arms to Zimbabwe and we would encourage others to take the same approach."

Three years ago, Mugabe signed extensive trade pacts with the Chinese as part of his Look East policy - forced on him after he was ostracised by western governments over alleged humans abuses.

The deal gave the Chinese mineral and trade concessions in exchange for economic help - mirroring other deals Beijing has signed with regimes all over Africa.

The Chinese soldiers seen in Mutare were accompanying Zimbabwean soldiers, say witnesses.

Workers at the city's Holiday Inn said ten members of the People's Liberation Army checked into the hotel on Monday, carrying pistols.

They were supposed to stay five days but left after three to travel to another town in the country.

Officially they were there to visit strategic areas such as border posts, key companies and state institutions.

"We've never seen Chinese soldiers in full regalia on our streets before. It was surprising," said one.

China is under an international spotlight over its human rights record and rule in Tibet ahead of hosting the Olympics in August. Violent protests have followed the Olympic torch across the globe.

Last night Beijing said it "has always had a prudent and responsible attitude towards arms sales".

The unions' action in Durban is also an embarrassment for South African president Thabo Mbeki.

He has been heavily criticised for not taking a tougher line against Mugabe, even claiming there is no crisis in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe information minister, Bright Matonga, said no party had the right to stop the shipment.

Yesterday, 84-year-old Mugabe launched a typical tirade against Britain in his first major speech since the elections.

Mugabe told 15,000 cheering supporters in a fiery address to mark independence day: "Down with the British. Down with thieves who want to steal our country."

In a stream of insults against Britain, Mugabe added: "Today they are like thieves fronting their lackeys among us, which they give money to confuse our people."

Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, repeated the line that London and not the MDC were the real enemy.

The MDC accuses him of launching a campaign of militia violence to help him rig victory in an expected presidential runoff against Tsvangirai.

South Africa helps clear arms to Zimbabwe - Telegraph

South Africa helps clear arms to Zimbabwe

By Sebastien Berger in Johannesburg

Last Updated: 3:56pm BST 18/04/2008

South Africa's national armaments company is helping to clear a Chinese weapons shipment to Zimbabwe through customs, it said today.

Telegraph journalist Stephen Bevan freed in Zimbabwe

Robert Mugabe stole Zimbabwe election, Gordon Brown tells UN

Around three million rounds of ammunition, along with thousands of mortar and rocket-propelled grenades, are on board the An Yue Jiang, a Chinese vessel currently at the outer anchorage of Durban port, awaiting final clearance to dock and unload.

With Zimbabwe in crisis over its presidential election last month, the main union at the port, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, has said its members will not unload the vessel.

Bertus Cilliers, spokesman for state-owned weapons manufacturer Armscor, which owns the support services subsidiary Armscor Business Logistics Freight, said: "We are only there to clear the things and make sure customs formalities have been complied with.

"From then on it's the owner of the shipment's responsibility."

According to South Africa's respected Mail and Guardian newspaper, private contractors have declined to transport the weapons to Zimbabwe because of the controversy, but Mr Cilliers said that was not a service provided by his company's subsidiary.

South African authorities have said that they could not interfere in legitimate trade between two other countries, and there is no arms embargo in place against Zimbabwe.

The government spokesman admitted that the situation in Zimbabwe was "dire", but president Thabo Mbeki has come under sustained fire for his policy of engaging Robert Mugabe with "quiet diplomacy".

China and Zimbabwe have a long history of military and trade links.

The arms controversy came as Zimbabwe's justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa, accused opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of conspiring with Prime Minister Gordon Brown to bring about "regime change".

Treason is a capital offence in Zimbabwe.

"It is clear that Tsvangirai along with Brown are seeking regime change in Zimbabwe, and on the part of Tsvangirai, this is treasonous," he told the Herald newspaper, a government mouthpiece.

"There is no doubting the consequences for acting in a treasonous manner."

His comments came after Mr Brown told the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday that "no one thinks Robert Mugabe has won" the country's presidential election – the results of which have still not been announced.

Mr Tsvangirai said that the South African leader Thabo Mbeki, accused of taking a soft line on Zimbabwe, should step down from his role mediating between the rival parties.

"President Mbeki needs to be relieved from his duty," he said.

The Herald printed a report headed "Tsvangirai's bid for UK military intervention exposed", based on what it claimed was an internal document from Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Mr Tsvangirai has always insisted his party will use only peaceful, democratic means to seek power.

But the newspaper said he sought backing for armed insurrection from an unlikely alliance of the MDC, farmers, businessmen, far-Right South Africans and that country's Democratic Alliance opposition.

It claimed that Mr Tsvangirai's helicopter pilot, arrested during the election campaign, was linked to MI6 and flew weapons into the country.

A letter from Mr Brown was also cited — and pictured – as alleged evidence, but the language is unlike anything to have previously emerged from Downing Street.

The British authorities are painfully aware of Mr Mugabe's willingness to make propaganda out of any concern expressed for the plight of the people of Zimbabwe.

They are going to great lengths to remain formally neutral, stressing instead the importance of the democratic process.

However, in the letter, "Mr Brown" says the British Government is "supportive of change" in Zimbabwe, that a Zanu-PF government is "no longer relevant", and Mr Mugabe is an "illegitimate" president.

The British High Commission in Harare denounced the letter as a fraud. It said the state-controlled media had "resorted to faking documents for crude propaganda".

The MDC said the document attributed to it was a fake.

But despite the implausibility of the plot, Mr Tsvangirai appears to be staying out of the country, avoiding the possibility of arrest – and campaigning for a run-off poll.

Mr Tsvangirai, who is in South Africa, said Mr Mugabe should be tried for crimes against humanity.

He said: "The current wave of violence against the people must stop and the only way to stop is that those who are committing those crimes those crimes must know that they must be answerable one day."

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Mugabe regime ordered 77 tonnes of Chinese arms three days AFTER disputed elections

South Africa helps clear arms to Zimbabwe