U.S. urges Zimbabwe explain detention of diplomats

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday called Zimbabwe's detention of U.S. and British diplomats for several hours "outrageous" and demanded President Robert Mugabe's government explain its actions.

"The Mugabe regime needs to not only explain its actions, but it (is) past time they stop the violence, let human rights and election monitors in and have a free and fair electoral process," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement.

"The people of Zimbabwe deserve much better than what they are getting now," he added.

At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said he expected the Security Council would hold consultations about Zimbabwe later on Thursday, and he hoped the council would express outrage about the incident.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States would also seek out the Zimbabwean delegation attending a food crisis summit in Rome to protest the issue. Mugabe is at the Rome meeting.

The U.S. Embassy in Harare said Zimbabwean police detained the U.S. and British diplomats for several hours after they visited victims of political violence ahead of this month's presidential run-off election.

McCormack told reporters the United States had protested vigorously to the Zimbabwean government over the incident and would not be intimidated by such actions.

"It is absolutely outrageous behavior and it is a taste of the kind of oppression and violence that this government is willing to use against its own people," said McCormack.

He said the United States was not pushing for a resolution in the U.N. Security Council against Zimbabwe, which close neighbor South Africa would likely opposed.

However, McCormack said, Washington wanted "to register our deep concern, unhappiness and distress about this particular incident," and highlight that the world was watching.

He said any "pretense" that the Zimbabwean authorities were surprised by the presence of the diplomats was a "diversion" and Zimbabwe's Foreign Ministry had been told in advance of their intention to travel there.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Sue Pleming, and Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations; editing by Mohammad Zargham)