Zimbabwe has summoned US Ambassador James McGee for what the foreign minister on Friday said was a "first warning" after the diplomat visited victims of spiralling post-election violence in hospital.

"This summoning to the ministry of foreign affairs constitutes the first warning to the US ambassador that any interference in Zimbabwe's internal affairs will not be tolerated," Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said in a statement, two days after the meeting with McGee.

"The government of Zimbabwe will not hesitate to invoke the relevant provisions of the conventions and protocols which govern the conduct of diplomatic relations between states."

According to the convention, diplomats can be expelled if they interfere in the internal affairs of their host country.

McGee, who has been in Zimbabwe since last year, this week angered Harare when he and other Western diplomats visited victims of political violence outside the capital without notifying authorities in Harare.

Mumbengegwi said that the envoy had failed to make prior arrangements with the foreign ministry about his visit.

"This was in violation of Zimbabwe's rules and regulations which require that diplomats travelling a distance beyond a 40 kilometres radius must make prior arrangements with the ministry of foreign affairs."

Mumbengegwi also said McGee made "politically-charged and inflammatory remarks" when he visited a local private clinic where some victims of political violence are hospitalised.

"This again constitutes interference in Zimbabwe's internal affairs."

This is not the first time Zimbabwe has clashed with a US diplomat.

In 2005, Harare also summoned the then ambassador Christopher Dell to warn him against "meddling" in the country's internal affairs after he accused Mugabe's government of corruption.

AFP