Mbeki meets with Mugabe in Harare

HARARE, Zimbabwe, May 9 (UPI) -- South African President Thabo Mbeki spent about four hours in talks Friday with President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

Mbeki had no comment after the meeting, the BBC reported.

The Movement for Democratic Change, which won a narrow parliamentary majority in the recent national election, said that its leaders believe Mbeki is pushing for a government of national unity.

Mbeki visited Zimbabwe four weeks ago, shortly after the March election, and said that there was no crisis in the country. But this week, he sent a group of retired South African generals to Zimbabwe to investigate allegations of violence, The New York Times reported.

A doctor involved in treating the wounded said that the South African team is taking the situation seriously. He said that they had held discussions with religious groups and healthcare professionals and had been to hospitals to interview wounded victims of post-election violence.

"I was blown away by their concern," one doctor told the Times in a telephone interview. "They understand the gravity of what they've walked into."