At least one killed in crackdown on MDC in Harare
The deployment of soldiers and attacks on unarmed protesters are a setback for Zanu-PF candidate Emmerson Mnangagwa’s efforts to shed Zimbabwe’s pariah status
Harare — At least one person was killed in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare on Wednesday as soldiers stepped in to disperse stone-throwing opposition supporters who accused the ruling Zanu-PF of rigging Monday’s presidential election, witnesses said. Police and troops backed by armoured vehicles and a military helicopter fired weapons and beat protesters to clear central Harare. One person was shot dead near a bus rank, witnesses at the scene said. The deployment of soldiers and their beating of unarmed protesters is a setback to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s efforts to shed Zimbabwe’s pariah status after decades of repression under Robert Mugabe, who was ousted in a coup in November.
Even before the violence, European Union observers questioned the conduct of the presidential and parliamentary poll, the first since Mugabe’s forced resignation after nearly 40 years in charge of the southern African nation. The violence started soon after opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MD...
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