By Tsegaye Tadesse

ADDIS ABABA, March 17 (Reuters) - The African Union (AU) expressed "great concern" on Saturday about Zimbabwe's crisis and called for human rights to be respected, after opposition members said they were beaten after an anti-government protest.

"The Chairman of the Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare, has followed with great concern the recent developments in Zimbabwe," the AU said in a statement released in Addis Ababa.

"The chairman ... recalls the need for the scrupulous respect for human rights and democratic principles in Zimbabwe."

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, and dozens of others said they were beaten in a crackdown on political demonstrations amid a spiralling economic crisis on Sunday.

Officials in turn accuse Tsvangirai and his group of resisting arrest and waging a violent, militia-style campaign to topple President Robert Mugabe.

The incident has triggered outrage in the West, especially after images of a badly bruised and limping Tsvangirai were flashed around the world, but the response within Africa has so far been relatively muted.

Konare's AU colleague John Kufour said earlier this week African leaders were embarrassed by the situation and could do more to help, but had met stiff resistance from Harare.

Critics of President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's leader since independence from Britain in 1980, accuse the 83-year-old of ruining the nation's economy and clamping down on any dissent.

The country faces a deepening economic crisis with inflation at more than 1,700 percent, unemployment of 80 percent and frequent shortages of food, fuel and foreign exchange.

On Friday, Britain asked U.N. officials to brief the Security Council on Zimbabwe's woes, but South Africa made it clear no action would follow because the turmoil did not affect international peace and security -- the council's mandate.

Developing countries as well as China and Russia have prevented action on Zimbabwe. Their main argument is that the council was encroaching on issues like human rights that are handled in other forums. (Additional reporting by Evelyn Leopold in New York)

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