HARARE, Zimbabwe, April 27 (UPI) -- Supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe say they have been targeted for beatings and some of their homes have been burned.

Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said Sunday the violence might make a political settlement between the MDC and President Robert Mugabe impossible, The New York Times reported. She said reports suggested most of the violence is aimed at MDC supporters in rural areas.

Milton, a farm worker living in a hamlet near Mutare, told The Times he and his neighbors were raided by young men in the middle of the night. The next day, police told them to gather everything they owned and leave their huts, which were burned by the same men who had attacked them in the night.

Jendayi Frazer, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, told the BBC that U.S. sanctions might be used if the violence continues.

The Zimbabwe Election Commission has yet to release the results of the presidential race. The commission announced Saturday that a recount has failed to change the parliamentary majority won by the MDC.