The United States Congress on Saturday accused President Mugabe of using famine as a "deadly weapon" against his own people.

Describing the situation in Zimbabwe as "Mugabe's famine", Congressional Africa sub-committee chairperson Ed Royce said: "My fear is that images of dying Zimbabweans are likely to be flashed on television screens shortly and it is important for Americans and the rest of the world to understand the cause of the problem.

"It is not mainly a problem of drought as Mugabe wants the world to believe. Here, we are dealing with a government, similar to that of North Korea, which is prepared to subject its opponents to famine." During the North Korean famine in 1995, caused by floods, the government of Kim Jong Il banned funerals of those under the age of 60. Families of famine victims under age in Hamgyong and Yanggang provinces were only allowed to bury bodies at night or at sea. At the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation summit in Rome last week, Mugabe praised his government's chaotic land reform programme, saying it was meant to fight hunger, although it has displaced an estimated 500 000 farm workers, who now need food assistance.

The Farm Community Trust is helping feed the displaced and trying to provide education for their children. During a sub-committee briefing dealing with famine in Southern Africa, members of the US Congress warned aid organisations that Zimbabwe should be categorised separately when US food aid was distributed.

United Nations agencies estimate that 13 million people in southern Africa need food aid between now and March next year. UN representatives, non-governmental organisations and the United States Agency for International Development testified on the scope of the disaster facing countries such as Zimbabwe, Lesotho Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia. The message by Congress was that the US would continue to support famine relief efforts, but that policymakers should have a better understanding of where failed government policies and corruption had caused most of the misery.

World Vision, non-governmental organisation, estimates at least 10 million people will need food aid in the next six months. Concerns are also mounting that the El Nino meteorological phenomenon is likely to make the situation worse, with droughts predicted for the forthcoming agricultural season.