Zanzibar frees opposition leaders

A court in Zanzibar has freed two senior opposition leaders after the state dropped murder charges against them.

The deputy secretary general of the Civic United Front, Juma Duni Haji, and another official from the party had been jointly charged with the murder of a policemen in the island of Pemba.

The policemen were killed during clashes with opposition demonstrators in January.

The decision to drop the charges against the two men follows the signing last week of a reconciliation agreement between the CUF and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi.

The agreement was aimed at resolving the long-running row in the country which arose when the opposition disputed the results of the last two general elections alleging that they had been flawed.