Officials have announced that Southern African leaders will convene an urgent meeting in Mbabane, the capital of Swaziland, to address the crisis in Zimbabwe. The meeting comes after Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai called on the United Nations to isolate President Robert Mugabe and deploy a peacekeeping force in the country. Despite the U.N. Security Council's recent condemnation of violence against the opposition and declaration that a free and fair presidential election on Friday was not possible, Mugabe remains defiant. The meeting in Mbabane has been organized by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in response to growing international pressure for Mugabe to address the political and economic issues in Zimbabwe. The meeting will be attended by the leaders of Tanzania, Angola, and Swaziland in their capacity as the SADC's troika on politics, defense, and security. The statement mentioned that President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia and President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, who is the SADC mediator for Zimbabwe, have been invited to attend the meeting. The focus of the meeting will be on how the SADC and its troika on politics, defense, and security can assist Zimbabwe in resolving its current conflict. Tsvangirai, who has sought refuge in the Dutch embassy in Harare after withdrawing from the election, expressed concern that Zimbabwe would face further turmoil without international intervention. He called for the UN to take stronger action against Mugabe, including actively isolating him and providing protection for the people. Tsvangirai stated that while they do not desire armed conflict, the people of Zimbabwe require global leaders to show support for their words of disapproval with the backing of military force. This force would act as peacekeepers, separating the people from their oppressors and protecting the democratic process that Zimbabwe longs for. The pressure on Mugabe has increased from both within and outside Africa due to Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis, attributed by the West and the opposition to the 84-year-old president who has been in power for 28 years. The United States has called on SADC to denounce both the election and Mugabe's government as illegitimate. Angola's state-owned ANGOP news agency reported SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salomao's statement that foreign ministers agreed at a meeting on Monday that there was a "climate of extreme violence" in Zimbabwe and the government needed to protect the people. The planned run-off election on Friday was supposed to be between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, who had won the first round in March but didn't achieve an outright victory. Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change also won a parallel parliamentary election in March, marking the first defeat for Mugabe's ZANU-PF party since independence in 1980. Following Tsvangirai's withdrawal, both Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and the leader of South Africa's ruling African National Congress called for a postponement of Friday's election. Zuma, who is considered one of the most powerful figures in South Africa, has requested immediate intervention from the United Nations and SADC, stating that the situation in Zimbabwe is spiraling out of control. While Mbeki's administration has favored a policy of "quiet diplomacy" with Mugabe and resisted using economic leverage over Zimbabwe, Zuma, who took over as ANC leader from Mbeki in December, has been more vocal in his criticism of Mugabe. Despite pressure from the West, Mugabe remains defiant and has insisted that the upcoming election will proceed as planned. Elections will continue as planned, according to Mugabe. He stated that those who wish to acknowledge their legitimacy are free to do so, while those who do not are not obligated to. Mugabe has overseen a decline into economic turmoil, with staggering statistics such as 80 percent unemployment and inflation rates exceeding 165,000 percent. He attributes his country's economic struggles to Western sanctions.