THE HAGUE, June 23: Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has taken refuge at the Netherlands embassy in Harare, a spokesman for Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said on Monday.

“He is temporarily at the embassy of the Netherlands in Harare,” spokesman Bart Rijs told AFP.

“A request was made yesterday by his party, the MDC, and Minister Verhagen decided that if he sought safety it would be granted.” Rijs could not say how long the opposition leader would remain at the Dutch mission.

“He (Tsvangirai) is currently reflecting on what the next step should be.” Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), announced on Sunday he was quitting the run-off race for the presidency against Robert Mugabe, saying increasing violence made a free and fair poll impossible.

On Monday, the opposition said Zimbabwean police rounded up more than 60 people in a raid on the MDC headquarters, including victims of political violence who had taken shelter there.—AFP