Zimbabwe opposition leader seeks refuge at Dutch embassy

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) - Zimbabwe opposition presidential candidate
Morgan Tsvangirai is at the Dutch embassy seeking temporary refuge because of
safety concerns, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said Monday.

Tsvangirai arrived at the Netherlands' embassy in Harare on Sunday,
hours after he announced he was withdrawing from Friday's run-off against
incumbent Robert Mugabe, a ministry spokesman in Amsterdam said."Tsvangirai has indeed asked through the MDC, his party, if the
Netherlands would be able to provide him with security in the coming days,"
Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen told CNN. "He himself is currently
considering further steps so I can't say how long he want(s) to be seeking
security in the Dutch embassy but we of course gave him the opportunity to hide
in the Dutch embassy."

Tsvangirai announced Sunday that his Movement for Democratic Change party
decided to pull out of Friday's vote because of violence and arrests targeting
his party and its supporters. Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba told CNN that
the vote will take place "even if Tsvangirai were to withdraw formally, which
he hasn't done."