Tsvangirai to return to Zimbabwe

Morgan Tsvangirai gained more votes than Robert Mugabe in the first round

Zimbabwean opposition presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai has said he plans to return home on Saturday to begin his run-off campaign.

His return last weekend was delayed amid allegations the army planned to assassinate Mr Tsvangirai with snipers.

The ruling party rejected opposition claims of a plot as a fantasy.

The presidential election run-off is due to take place on 27 June, despite warnings that election violence makes a fair second round impossible.

Opposition and human rights groups have said hundreds of opposition supporters have been beaten up and at least 40 killed since the first round on 29 March.

The ruling party denies supporting violence and says the West is trying to demonise Zimbabwe.

Mr Tsvangirai has spent more than a month outside Zimbabwe, mainly in South Africa, since the first round trying to drum up international support.

"I am going home... Saturday," he told a crowd of Zimbabweans sheltering from a wave of anti-foreigner violence in South Africa's Alexandra township, in Johannesburg.

According to official results, Mr Tsvangirai won the presidential poll, but not by enough to avoid a run-off with President Mugabe.

Last year, Mr Tsvangirai was treated in hospital after being assaulted by police.

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