Zimbabweans 'start crisis talks'

Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai shook hands at their first meeting in a decade

Representatives of Zimbabwe's ruling and opposition parties have begun power-sharing talks in South Africa, officials there have said.

The talks began after the arrival of the four main negotiators from Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.

President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a deal agreeing to the negotiations on Monday.

The talks, intended to end a crisis following disputed presidential polls, are slated to last two weeks.

Progress will have to be swift for the talks to be concluded within that timeframe, the BBC's Jonah Fisher reports from Johannesburg.

The structure and composition of a new government is yet to be decided, as is the future of Mr Mugabe, our correspondent adds.

Rare meeting

President Mugabe signed a memorandum of understanding with Mr Tsvangirai on Monday, paving the way for the talks.

It was their first meeting in a decade.

Both men claim to have won this year's elections.

ZIMBABWE TALKS What MDC wants: Mugabe to step down "Transitional authority" to organise new elections What Zanu-PF wants: Mugabe to be accepted as president MDC to take a few minor ministries International community to drop sanctions and help kick-start economy Full text of the Memorandum of Understanding[39KB] Voters' views Q&A: Zimbabwe crisis

Mr Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), won the first round in March, but official results gave him less than the 50% required for outright victory.

Mr Mugabe then claimed victory in the second round after Mr Tsvangirai pulled out, complaining of a campaign of violence against his supporters.

The start of the talks on Thursday was confirmed by the office of South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has been leading mediation over Zimbabwe.

The deal bans parties from talking to the media and there had been conflicting reports about when negotiations would start.

Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper reported that the negotiators from Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the MDC travelled to South Africa on the same flight on Wednesday.

Zanu-PF is represented by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Public Services Minister Nicholas Goche, while the MDC has sent Secretary General Tendai Biti and Deputy Treasurer Elton Mangoma.

A Zanu-PF official told the Herald that the party's politburo had been briefed on the negotiations at a meeting on Wednesday.

"We gave Comrade Chinamasa and Comrade Goche the green light for them to go ahead with the negotiations within the parameters signed by the principals," said Zanu-PF deputy secretary for information and publicity Ephraim Masawi.

The MDC says at least 120 of its supporters have been killed, about 5,000 abducted and 200,000 forced from their homes since the first round of the elections, in a campaign of violence by pro-Mugabe militias and the army.

Cabinet ministers and military officials have denied the charges.