Tsvangirai appeals for U.N. intervention in Zimbabwe

By Kwasi Kpodo and Daniel Flynn

ACCRA (Reuters) - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai urged U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and African leaders to intervene in his country's post-election crisis on Monday, saying the military were terrorising the people.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban expressed deep concern over the violence and polarization he said was prevalent in Zimbabwe, during talks with Tsvangirai on the sidelines of a U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting in Accra.

"He told me that the military had been deployed around the country terrorizing people, and therefore many people had been running away from their homes and hiding somewhere, which had in turn created a very serious humanitarian situation," Ban told reporters after the talks, which lasted roughly half an hour.

Tsvangirai complained that regional leaders had failed to help Zimbabwe and asked for United Nations and African Union intervention and humanitarian assistance, he added.

Zimbabwe's opposition says Tsvangirai won last month's presidential polls and that President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled since independence in 1980, is attempting to cling to power by delaying declaring the results.

Zimbabwe also announced a delay on Sunday in a partial recount of the votes in a parallel parliamentary election, extending a deadlock in which the opposition says 10 of its members have been killed and hundreds arrested.

Jacob Zuma, leader of South Africa's ruling ANC, has taken the strongest African stand on the issue. He again said Zimbabweans would pay a heavy price if the crisis were not resolved soon.

"We speak out to promote democracy, peace and stability, and also because as all democrats know, no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people," Zuma said in Berlin, where he met with German, Indian and Brazilian politicians in a dialogue on global challenges.