Ban calls on Mugabe to release prisoners

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday called on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to release political prisoners his government is holding.

Ban made his call after a government power-sharing agreement was reached between the ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, a statement issued by the United Nations said.

Under the agreement, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai will serve as prime minister.

"I welcome the national unity government as a first step toward full democracy. But there remains a long way to go," Ban told reporters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, where the African Union summit was being held.

Zimbabwe is battling hyper inflation and a cholera epidemic that has already claimed 3,100 lives and infected 60,000 people.

Last week, the U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund said it was releasing nearly $8 million to help fight the disease in Zimbabwe.