Ruling party militants in Zimbabwe have burned tires and set up roadblocks in the town of Marondera, forcing the opposition to cancel a rally ahead of this month's presidential election.

Officials of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change say party leader and presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai had to cancel the rally because of the unrest in the town, about 70 kilometers east of the capital, Harare.

The opposition officials said heavily armed police and soldiers surrounded the location of the rally, frightening opposition supporters. The opposition accused security forces of colluding with the ruling party militants.

Mr. Tsvangirai is the main challenger to Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who is battling to maintain his 22-year grip in power in the March 9 and 10 election.

A top U.S. diplomat told a congressional hearing in Washington Thursday that the government-orchestrated repression in Zimbabwe is too profound and pervasive to allow for an untainted election.

Zimbabwean police say they arrested 38 opposition members on Thursday in Harare and will charge them with causing a public disturbance. However, the opposition says the police raided a meeting to train polling agents and began beating up and arresting opposition supporters.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

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