MUGABE'S MEETING WITH THE MILITARY

Action taken by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) today does not represent a military takeover of the Government but is meant to address the political, social and economic situation that could have ended in violent conflict, the ZDF said in a statement.

Meanwhile the situation across the country remains calm as Zimbabweans took in the news.

Zimbabwe's embattled President Robert Mugabe has been shown in talks with the commander of the country's defense forces, a day after the military seized control of the capital.

Photographs published by the pro-Mugabe Herald newspaper are the first images of the veteran leader since he was placed under house arrest Wednesday morning. Among the group of people in the photos is a priest, reported earlier to be brokering talks for a transitional government.

In the images, Mugabe appears calm as he talks with army leader Commander General Constantino Chiwenga, the man who warned the President on Monday that the military would intervene if party infighting continued.

The Herald's editor, Caesar Zvayi, also tweeted the images.