The US says diplomats were stopped at a police checkpoint [File: AFP]

The move on Thursday comes about a week after some aid groups were banned for distributing food.
 
Those groups were accused of campaigning for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in general elections held on March 29.
 
A statement written to the groups by Nicholas Goche, minister of public service, labour and social welfare, said: "It has hereby come to my attention that a number of NGOs involved in humanitarian operations are breaching the terms and conditions of their registration.

"I hereby instruct all PVOs [Private Voluntary Organisations]/NGOs to suspend all field operations until further notice."

Diplomats 'attacked'

The suspension of the aid groups and NGOs came on a day when two American and one British diplomatic vehicle were reportedly attacked and several diplomats detained.
 
The incident on Thursday was confirmed by Gordon Johndroe, a US national security council spokesman, who called it "outrageous" and "completely unacceptable".

The UK and US later said that their diplomats had been freed.
 
James McGee, the US ambassador to Zimbabwe, said: "The police put up a roadblock, stopped the vehicles, slashed the tyres, reached in and grabbed the telephones from my personnel.
 
"And the war veterans threatened to burn the vehicles with my people inside unless they got out of the vehicles and accompanied the police to a station nearby."
 
The government in Harare said that the diplomats had been addressing a gathering at the home of an opposition party activist.
 
Bright Matonga, the deputy information minister, said: "The British and American diplomats had gone to a house in Bindura where they addressed a gathering. There was commotion and police were called in."

"When police arrived they fled and then they were stopped at a roadblock on the way. When they refused to disembark following orders by the police, police then deflated the tyres of one of the vehicles."

'Attempted get away'
 
A US press spokesperson at the embassy told Al Jazeera that the group was "carrying out normal diplomatic business, collecting evidence from victims of political violence, when they were stopped in Bindura, by the Zimbabwean police.

Harare said that the diplomats were at an opposition member's house [File: AFP]

"The police officials tried to take the diplomats to jail - in contradiction of the Vienna convention on diplomatic immunity.
 
"The US diplomats rang the US embassy who told the officials to go back to Harare.
 
"One car made it back. As one of the others drove off they were chased by police who tried to drive them off the road. The car was eventually brought to a halt at a road block – and its tyres were slashed.
 
"They were then surrounded by military, war veterans and police.
 
"Another car with security people which headed their way was also stopped and a satellite phone was stolen."
 
All released
 
A British government spokesman later said that all their envoys had been freed and were safe.
 
The UK foreign office had summoned the Zimbabwean ambassador in London to explain the events.
 
The US embassy said that their officials had been released after several hours.
 
Mark Weinburg, an embassy spokesman, said:  "They have all been released and are on their way back to Harare."
 
The White House then demanded that the Zimbabwean government "explain its actions" and said it planned to raise the incident at the UN security council.

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