British PM slams Mugabe's 'blood-stained regime'

London: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown branded the Zimbabwean government a "blood-stained regime" yesterday and urged the international community to tell President Robert Mugabe "enough is enough".

Brown said food shortages, and the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe which has killed hundreds of people, had become an "international rather than a national emergency" that demanded a coordinated response.

"We must stand together to defend human rights and democracy, to say firmly to Mugabe that enough is enough," he said in a statement.

Avoidable deaths

Brown did not explicitly say Mugabe should step down, but in comments later on television he said the world should speak with one voice "to say that this must be brought to an end".

"The whole world is angry because they see avoidable deaths - of children, mothers, and families affected by a disease that could have been avoided," he said. "This is a humanitarian catastrophe. This is a breakdown in civil society. It is a blood-stained regime that is letting down its own people."

Mugabe would be out of power within two weeks if Zimbabwe's neighbours starved his armed forces of fuel for their vehicles, Botswana's foreign minister said yesterday.

Phandu Skelemani said the outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe showed more pressure should be put on fellow members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to stop propping up Mugabe's administration.