Zimbabwe Power-sharing Talks Edge Closer

Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai are reportedly close to signing an agreement to hold power-sharing talks to form a unity government, according to officials in Zimbabwe.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials told the Associated Press that South African president Thabo Mbeki, who has been negotiating international talks on Zimbabwe, was scheduled to arrive in the Zimbabwean capital this morning.

The agreement is thought to set out conditions between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, to help solve Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis.

Last week it was announced that a group of senior diplomats, including representatives form the UN, the African Union and the South African Development Community, would assist Mbeki in the negotiations.

Tsvangirai won the most votes in the March elections but withdrew from the June run-off against Mugabe because of state-sponsored violence against his supporters.

The MDC believes at least 120 supporters have been killed and 5,000 abducted since the first round of the elections in a campaign of escalating brutality.