APA-Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt) The African Union (AU) executive council issued a draft decision on Zimbabwe stressing the need for the embattled leaders in Harare “to work for a durable solution" to the political crisis, APA noted here on Sunday.

The document, which was appended to a draft declaration to be submitted to the Monday AU heads of state conference, urged the parties to show restraint and stop any act of violence.

The different parties of the Zimbabwean political crisis were also urged “to call for their respective supporters to immediately end the violence and intimidation”, the AU executive council said in the draft decision made available to APA.

Speaking about the holding of the Zimbabwe’s runoff, the AU executive body commended the deployment of observers from the African Union, the South African Development Community (SADC), and the African Parliament.

The violence and casualties frustrated the Council which expressed its deep concern over the situation, its ripple effects on the political stability in the country and its humanitarian consequences.

Zimbabwe endured a political unrest nurtured by the supporters of Robert Mugabe who was declared winner of the presidential runoff and the sympathisers of the opposition leader Morgan Tvsangirai who withdrew from the race “to spare his followers further risks”.

The AU executive council, which questioned Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs minister, hailed the efforts deployed by the SADC and President Thabo Mbeki as the regional mediator of the crisis.