Zimbabwe: 40,000 farm workers displaced

The two organizations said 142 farms had been invaded since the election. Many of the 400 remaining white commercial farmers have been assaulted.

Meanwhile, a Zimbabwean photographer for Reuters, Howard Burditt, was released on bail Thursday after been held by police in Harare for three days for allegedly using a satellite phone to transmit pictures, the agency said.

David Schlesinger, Reuters editor-in-chief earlier said the agency had complied with Zimbabwean media regulations.

South African President Thabo Mbeki will travel to Zimbabwe Friday to meet with the Zimbabwe's leaders, the foreign affairs department said Thursday.

Mbeki, who has been mediating the crisis on behalf of the Southern African Development Community, has been criticized for his policy of "quiet diplomacy" rather than confronting Mugabe.

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Associated Press writer Devon Haynie in Johannesburg, South Africa contributed to this report.