MDC to pull out after 70 supporters killed
Zimbabwe opposition to pull out
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...a80db3c9d8.jpg Morgan Tsvangirai say he won the vote outright in March
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has decided to pull out of the presidential run-off on 27 June, party officials say.
The Movement for Democratic Change says the decision comes after at least 70 of its supporters have been killed in the run-up to the poll.
The incumbent, Robert Mugabe, has accused the opposition of being behind the violence.
Mr Mugabe has said he will never accept a Zimbabwe run by the MDC.
On Saturday, South Africa sent two mediators to Harare, just days after its President, Thabo Mbeki, went to Zimbabwe himself, for separate talks with Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai.
The BBC's Peter Biles, in Johannesburg, says this is possibly a last ditch effort to persuade Mr Mugabe to cancel the election run-off, and to persuade both sides to begin negotiations on a government of national unity.
It is widely accepted that in the present circumstances, with serious political violence, the election will not resolve Zimbabwe's problems, our correspondent adds.
The MDC says its members have been beaten, and its supporters evicted from their homes, forcing it to campaign in near secrecy.
The party's secretary general, Tendai Biti, is under arrest charged with treason.
Mr Mugabe has accused the MDC of acting in the interest of Britain, the former colonial power, and other Western countries. Zimbabwe's other immediate neighbours have also added their voices to increasing international concern over the validity of the run-off.
>.> Somebody hurry up and assasinate mugabe already
