Johannesburg  - The suffering of Zimbabweans looked set to continue for some time to come Sunday after a summit of Southern African leaders tried but failed to breathe life into Harare's floundering power-sharing agreement.

After more than nine hours of talks among leaders of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai remained far apart on how to divide power.

Johannesburg  - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Sunday rejected a proposal by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to share control of the disputed Home Affairs Ministry with President Robert Mugabe.

In a "poisoned" atmosphere like that currently between Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Mugabe's Zanu- PF, "quite clearly the concept of co-ministering cannot work," Tsvangirai said.

The party remains committed to a September 15 agreement to form a unity government with Mugabe, he said.

Johannesburg  - Southern African leaders on Sunday resolved to provide "immediate assistance" to the Army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda's forces.

The 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) said it would deploy a peacekeeping force in Congo "if necessary."

Johannesburg  - A summit of Southern African leaders called Sunday for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his arch-rival, prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai, to share control of the contested Home Affairs Ministry.

The dispute over the key internal security agency has threatened to sink a power-sharing deal that had offered a way out of Zimbabwe's political stalemate.