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Zimbabwe at "tipping point"

LONDON: Zimbabwe is facing a critical moment that could see the end of the dictatorship of President Robert Mugabe, said leader of the main Opposition on Sunday.

Speaking by telephone from Harare, Morgan Tsvangirai said he was recovering from injuries inflicted by police during a March 11 protest gathering. Photographs of his battered face were printed in newspapers around the world, drawing more attention to the situation in the southern African country.

``Things are bad,'' Mr. Tsvangirai told the British Broadcasting Corp.'s Sunday AM programme, ``but I think that this crisis has reached a tipping point, and we could see the beginning of the end of this dictatorship in whatever form.''

Mr. Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change, was among scores of activists injured as police cracked down on an Opposition meeting in the Harare township of Highfield. One activist was shot and killed.

Zimbabwean police used tear gas, water cannon and live ammunition and beat activists during and after arrests, according to the Opposition members.

Mr. Tsvangirai's supporters have vowed to drive Mr. Mugabe from office with a campaign of civil disobedience.

Opponents of Mr. Mugabe blame him for repression, corruption, acute food shortages and inflation of 1,600 per cent. — AP

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