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English/Nat A white farmer in Zimbabwe has died from injuries suffered in an attack by squatters occupying his farm. Alan Dunn died after squatters fractured his skull and broke his arms on Sunday afternoon at his farm near Beatrice, 35 miles south of Harare. Dunn was the first white farmer to be attacked in nearly two weeks and the third to die in the nearly three-month-old bitter dispute between farmers and squatters over land ownership rights. The attack - and a call by the leader of the squatters to round up Zimbabweans who still hold British passports - have renewed fears among white Zimbabwean farmers. Alan Dunn's farm is situated in a remote area, 56 kilometers (35 miles) south of Harare. The farmer was attacked after he returned to his property near Beatrice, following a short time away. Dunn was badly beaten by black squatters - he suffered two skull fractures, internal bleeding and multiple breaks to both arms Farm union officials said the victim had supported the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change. At least 18 people have died from political violence that started in February, when the M-D-C led the defeat of a referendum on a revised constitution. Many of the victims have had ties to the opposition. Dunn is the third farmer killed by the squatters, while a further half-dozen farmers have been severely beaten. Dunn's wife was at her husband' bedside until he passed away on Monday. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We don't exactly know how it happened. But he heard a noise. He came out to see what the noise was. By the time I got here, the guys had ran off. He was lying here in a critical, critical condition. The girls ran off to the cottages, out of danger and they stayed there until the situation was safe." SUPER CAPTION: Jason Garret, farm manager The attack did not come as a surprise to fellow farmers, even though no one expected this tragic outcome. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I didn't expect this to happen. He was a father figure to me." SUPER CAPTION: Marius Steyn, farm manager The hospital confirmed Dunn's death and has handed the incident over to the police. SOUNDBITE: (English) "CT scan showed that there was extensive damage to the brain caused by an unknown object, presumed to be metal objects and this case - I must say - is subject to police investigation." SUPER CAPTION: Malcolm Boyland, managing director hospital The squatters - led by veterans of Zimbabwe's independence war - began taking over white-owned farms in February. President Robert Mugabe has called the land occupations justified in the former British colony where one-third of the fertile land is still owned by a minority four-thousand white farmers. But opponents accuse him of provoking the land crisis to intimidate white farmers and other opposition supporters. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Collective defence, self-defence, is a legal right of everybody. People must be conscious that they're are the target, that they must find collective means of self-defence. People in isolated areas are targets and that they must find a way of either grouping together, defending themselves." SUPER CAPTION: Morgan Tsvangirai, opposition leader The attack on Dunn, along with the abduction and beating of two game scouts on Saturday, have renewed fears among white Zimbabwean farmers. More than one-thousand farms are now occupied. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/a9c5125277a9206f9123807e341f6a8b Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork