Report calls for engagement with Zimbabwe

BRUSSELS, April 20 (UPI) -- Zimbabwe's unity government is showing signs of stability but could fail without international support, a report from the International Crisis Group said.

The Belgium-based non-governmental organization released a report Monday that said it is too early for the European Union and the United States to remove their visa bans and asset freezes against members of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's regime. However, the report says that Zimbabwe is "turning a corner," the Crisis Group reported.

The report, "Zimbabwe: Engaging the Inclusive Government," said the international community should have some engagement with Zimbabwe. Crisis Group officials said that in order to prevent the ongoing suffering of local people and the collapse of a fragile unity government, donors should support relief and recovery efforts in the country.

"If the international community stands back with a wait-and-see attitude, the unity government is likely to fail, and Mugabe and the military establishment will entrench themselves again," Donald Steinberg, Crisis Group deputy president, said in a statement.

"There should be no alternative to engagement to address pressing socio-economic needs, reinforce new hope and prevent a return to violence and repression."