SOUTH African government ministers are in Harare for crisis talks with ousted President Robert Mugabe and military leaders who have seized control.
They are trying to reach a deal on the future of Zimbabwe and the man who has led the country for 37 years and is now under house arrest.
President Mugabe clears wife’s succession path
The talks are being led by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said Mr Mugabe must resign.
Sources suggest Mr Mugabe may be resisting pressure to step down, insisting he remains the legitimate president.
The head of the African Union, Guinean President Alpha Conde, has also warned the AU “will in no case accept” the military seizure of power. He said he was “inviting the army to return to its barracks and return to constitutional order”.
President Mugabe, 93, has been in control of Zimbabwe since it threw off white minority rule in 1980.
However, the power struggle over who might succeed him, between his wife Grace Mugabe and her rival former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has split the ruling Zanu-PF party in recent months.
Last week, Mr Mugabe came down in favour of his wife, sacking Mr Mnangagwa, a veteran of Zimbabwe’s anti-colonial struggle.
That proved too much for military leaders, who seized control of the country on Wednesday.
Mr Mugabe is under house arrest. A Roman Catholic priest was known to him for years, Father Fidelis Mukonori is trying to mediate a deal on his future with the military.
South African Defence Minister Nosiviwe Maphisa-Nqakula and State Security Minister Bongani Bongo are meeting Mr Mugabe on behalf of Sadc, which South Africa currently leads.
Sticking points are said to include what role Mr Mnangagwa will play and the security of Mr Mugabe’s family, BBC reported.
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