Zimbabwean government and opposition officials met in South Africa on Thursday to try to find a way out of their country's political crisis, with the opposition pressing for an end to attacks, the South African Press Association reported.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he sent a team to Pretoria led by his top deputy Tendai Biti, not to open negotiations, but to lay down conditions for talks, according to the report. The opposition also demands that a mediator be appointed alongside South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has overseen talks on and off for more than a year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 11, 2008)