Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said at the end of a one-day strike against his government yesterday that war veterans illegally occupying white-owned farms would be removed before the end of the month.

Responding to reporters' questions after talks with visiting South African President Thabo Mbeki in Harare, Mugabe said his government would speed up the acquisition of farms identified for redistribution to landless blacks.

"The farms that will be resettled, farms on which we will resettle those people, will be the only ones in which we should have those presently occupying the farms and the rest of the farms must become vacant.

"In other words, we will, in the process, be removing all war veterans from the rest of the farms that will not be resettled. I want to say, within this month we will have concluded this exercise," he said.

The government has completed procedures to take over about 200 farms that owners were willing to give up. A process has been started to seize a further 600 farms from owners who object to the confiscation of their land with compensation only for buildings, but not the land itself.

It was not clear, however, whether Mugabe was including the further 2 237 farms his government announced on Monday it would identify for redistribution. Mugabe has said in the past he wants about half the 12 million hectares currently owned by around 4 500 white farmers.

Thousands of veterans of the former Rhodesia's 1970s liberation war are currently occupying close to 1 000 white-owned commercial farms in defiance of court decisions, branding the occupations illegal.

"We will be resettling those in need of land, both those occupying the farms and those who have not done so," Mugabe said.

Mbeki, who visited with a delegation including ministers of finance, trade and industry and agriculture, said he was confident Mugabe would end the lawlessness and occupations that triggered yesterday's unprecedented strike by business, industrial workers, farmers and opposition supporters.