Leaders of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party are meeting on Friday to draft a resolution to dismiss President Robert Mugabe at the weekend and lay the ground for his impeachment next week if he refuses to stand down, a senior party source said.

“There is no going back,” the source told Reuters. “If he becomes stubborn, we will arrange for him to be fired on Sunday. When that is done, it's impeachment on Tuesday.”

The unfolding drama in the capital, Harare, had been thrown into confusion when a smiling Mugabe was pictured on Thursday shaking hands with Zimbabwe's military chief, the man behind the coup, raising questions about whether or not the end of an era was near.

Mugabe unexpectedly drove on from his lavish “Blue Roof” compound yesterday, where he had been confined, to the State House, where official media pictured him meeting military boss Constantino Chiwenga and South African mediators.

Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices Show all 9 1 /9 Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices An armoured personnel carrier stations by an intersection as Zimbabwean soldiers regulate traffic in Harare AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices An armed soldier patrols the street as members of the public cross the road AP Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices Soldiers stand on the streets in Harare REUTERS Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices A military tank with armed soldiers on the road leading to President Robert Mugabe's office in Harare AP Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices Armed soldiers search a vehicle AP Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices A military tank blocks the road leading to President Robert Mugabes office in Harare AP Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices Zimbabwean soldiers regulate civilian traffic in Harare AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices An army tank blocks the main road REUTERS Zimbabwe Crisis: Army block main road to government offices Military vehicles and soldiers patrol the streets in Harare REUTERS

The official Herald newspaper carried no reports of the meeting's outcome, leaving Zimbabwe's 13 million people in the dark about the situation.

The United States, a longtime critic of Mugabe over allegations of human rights abuses and election rigging, said it is seeking “a new era” for Zimbabwe, the State Department's top official for Africa said, an implicit call for the nonagenarian leader to quit.