HARARE, Zimbabwe, June 23 (UPI) -- One-time Zimbabwean presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai sought refuge Monday in the country's Dutch embassy, Dutch government officials say.
Tsvangirai, the Movement for Democratic Change candidate, pulled out of the contest for president against incumbent Robert Mugabe Sunday, accusing him orchestrating a campaign of violence and intimidation against his supporters that makes a free and fair election impossible. After pulling out the race, he made his way to the Dutch embassy in Harare, CNN reported.
"Tsvangirai has indeed asked through the MDC, his party, if the Netherlands would be able to provide him with security in the coming days," Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen told the U.S. network, adding he didn't know how long Tsvangirai planned to stay.
Tsvangirai had only recently returned to Zimbabwe from South Africa, where he previously fled for safety from Mugabe's paramilitary supporters and police, which have been accused by human rights groups of killing at least 80 MDC supporters in the run-up to Friday's scheduled presidential election.
