Zimbabwe's beleaguered 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe's meeting on Thursday with army general's including Constantino Chwenga, who is leading the "coup", went on late into the night, but there has been no word as to what the outcome was.

It had been widely speculated that Mugabe would agree to step down provided that his safety and that of his family were guaranteed.

The meeting at State House, also attended by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) envoys - South Africa Defence Minister Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and State Security Minister Bongani Bongo - ended just before midnight.

Chiwenga took control of the country on Tuesday in a move the Zimbabwe Defence Forces said was aimed at removing "criminals" surrounding the ageing president.

However, regional body SADC, which held an emergency security troika meeting in Botswana on Thursday, has warned it will not tolerate any unconstitutional change of government.

Meanwhile, the fate of the arrested ministers, including Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo, remains unknown.