Harare/Johannesburg  - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai were due to resume critical talks on a powersharing government on Monday after failing to sign off on a deal at marathon negotiations in Harare Sunday.

Around 14 hours of talks between the two leaders under the mediation of South African President Thabo Mbeki were adjourned in the early hours of Monday morning without an agreement.

Mugabe, 84, was the first to leave Rainbow Towers hotel, where the talks that are subject to a media blackout were taking place behind closed doors.

Looking drawn, Mugabe told reporters: "We haven't finished. Obviously there are some sticking points in any dialogue and we'll overcome (them) tomorrow."

The leader of a breakaway faction of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Arthur Mutambara, who is also a party to the talks, described the negotiations as a "work in progress." Tsvangirai refused comment.

One of Mugabe's chief negotiators, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, said the leaders would meet again after annual Heroes' Day commemorations. The holiday commemorates Zimbabweans who died in the struggle for independence from Britain.

Mbeki arrived in Harare on Saturday to try to push the leaders the final mile towards a deal, following nearly two weeks of talks between his Zanu-PF and the two MDC factions in South Africa.

Mugabe, who was inaugurated for another five years as president in June after an election widely condemned as a sham, grudgingly entered the talks at the bidding of the African Union.

The dire straits of Zimbabwe's economy, characterized by inflation of over 2 million per cent and critical food shortages, also forced the normally intransigent leader to the negotiating table.

Western powers have promised to help dig Zimbabwe out of its economic crisis if the MDC and Tsvangirai are given a leading role in a unity government.

Reports emanating from the talks in South Africa suggested Tsvangirai would be made prime minister in the new government. The division of powers between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, the term of the new government and the number and division of ministries between Zanu-PF and the MDC were believed to be among the more divisive issues.

Zimbabweans are hoping a negotiated settlement will deliver them from a decade of worsening political repression and economic hardship under Mugabe.

The African Union in July called on Mugabe and Tsvangirai to share power after Mugabe ran alone in a presidential run-off election on June 27 that Tsvangirai boycotted.

Tsvangirai withdrew from the poll after dozens of his supporters were killed by pro-Mugabe youth militia in the aftermath of the first round of voting for president on March 29, which Tsvangirai won. (dpa)