The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) said the group was attacked after they filmed a convoy of governing Zanu-PF party supporters, which had blockaded a road in the town of Gokwe west of the capital, Harare, ahead of an opposition rally.

About 10 people then emerged from vehicles emblazoned with the Zanu-PF logos and dragged the journalists from their car, beat them up, ordered them to delete their footage and stole the car keys.

One of the journalists, Tongai Mwenje who works for SportBrief, told the BBC they stomped on his head and body and punched him, causing him to lose a tooth.

He said his colleague Pellagia Mpurwa, from the online magazine Technomag, briefly lost consciousness and suffered a fractured leg.

The other journalists attacked were Technomag’s editor Toneo Rutsito and Chelsea Mashayaombe from the Zimbabwe Daily.

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The main opposition party, the Citizen’s Coalition for Change (CCC), said the convoy of its leader Nelson Chamisa was also chased and pelted with stones.

The CPJ said impunity for crimes against journalists remains high in Zimbabwe, where general elections are due to be held next year.

Previous polls have been marred by violence and voter intimidation.