Zimbabwe premier ends boycott, says he’s assured S.Africa closely monitoring unity government

Zimbabwe’s premier counting on South Africa

MAPUTO, Mozambique — Zimbabwe’s prime minister says assurances South Africa will be watching persuaded him to end his boycott of his country’s troubled unity Cabinet.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told reporters late Thursday after talks with regional leaders he was returning to Cabinet meetings but still had differences to resolve with President Robert Mugabe. He says South Africa will monitor talks among Zimbabwean leaders and report back in 15 days.

Tsvangirai has demanded South Africa and the other 14 members of the Southern African Development Community to take a more active role in ensuring the unity government works.

Tsvangirai announced his boycott of the unity government three weeks ago, citing a surge in political violence by Mugabe’s supporters.