Mugabe vows to see talks through

Robert Mugabe praised President Thabo Mbeki's mediation effort

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has said he will continue talks on a power sharing deal with the opposition despite reaching no deal so far.

The talks between his governing Zanu-PF party and opposition officials are due to resume on Tuesday after adjourning for the night.

Mr Mugabe had earlier said he felt sure differences could be overcome.

South African President Thabo Mbeki is leading the mediation, aimed at ending Zimbabwe's bitter election dispute.

Earlier, Mr Mugabe warned opposition groups not to be "used by enemies", saying the country was not for sale.

Addressing hundreds of people on Heroes' Day, honouring those who died in the 1970s war against white minority rule, the president vowed that Zimbabwe would "never be a colony again".

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Robert Mugabe at the Heroes' Day parade

"Let's not hand over the country to the enemy," he said. "If you are on the enemy's side or you are being used by enemies, stop it."

Ceremonial role

The discussions in the capital, Harare, appear to have run into disagreements over the make-up of the new coalition government and how much power President Mugabe is prepared to relinquish, the BBC's Jonah Fisher reports from neighbouring South Africa.

There are always sticking points in any dialogue, but we are confident we will overcome President Robert Mugabe

Having won March's parliamentary election, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) wants an allocation of ministries which closely mirrors that result, our correspondent says.

The agreement being discussed would see Mr Mugabe remain president with the MDC's leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, becoming prime minister, reports say.

Mr Tsvangirai would head a large cabinet divided evenly between their two parties, but with a smaller faction of the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara holding the balance of posts, it is thought.

The MDC said before the talks that while it would accept Mr Mugabe in a ceremonial role, if he was to retain significant powers it would reward him and the Zanu-PF for an alleged systematic campaign of violence against opposition supporters since the elections in March.

The US, EU and the UK have all said that a $1.9bn (£1bn) financial aid package, needed to stabilise Zimbabwe's economy and combat hyperinflation, will only be released if Mr Mugabe relinquished control.

But our correspondent says he has seen little sign that Mr Mugabe is willing to accept a ceremonial role.

Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of Zimbabwe's presidential run-off

Asked if there had been any progress after a further four hours of talks at the Rainbow Towers hotel, the president told reporters: "Not at the present moment, but we will continue tomorrow."

Before Monday's talks began, Mr Tsvangirai said he hoped the discussions would soon be concluded.

South Africa's president has been in Harare since Saturday. Before that, he was mediating negotiations from South Africa.

Mr Mugabe won a run-off in June after Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of the race, blaming a campaign of violence against his supporters.

Mr Mbeki is under pressure to achieve a solid outcome ahead of next week's Southern African Development Community (Sadc) summit.

Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have fled the country's worsening political and economic situation, many crossing over the borders into neighbouring South Africa, Zambia and Botswana.