HARARE, Zimbabwe, April 30 (UPI) -- A former U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe hailed a decision by the ruling ZANU-PF party to release opposition members from custody but warned of further crackdowns.

Government officials freed more than 200 members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change jailed since Friday. MDC members complain of torture and intimidation, a charge the government denies.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe Tom McDonald praised the decision to release the opposition members but said he expected the violence to continue, Voice of America said Wednesday.

McDonald said the overwhelming consensus is that MDC presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai won the March 29 election. The ruling ZANU-PF party of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, however, contested the results as it faced giving up power for the first time since the country's independence in 1980.

Tsvangirai has been out of the country visiting various diplomats, including U.N. Secretary-Ban Ki-Moon' title='General Ban Ki-Moon' class='tpstyle'>General Ban Ki-Moon, and McDonald doubts he would return to Zimbabwe anytime soon "because the Mugabe regime is totally unpredictable as to how it might deal with him."

McDonald warned the Mugabe government if it continued to obstruct democracy, he would pursue an arms embargo on Zimbabwe, Voice of America said.