DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania – Police in Tanzania fired tear gas and gunshots on Thursday to disperse groups of protesters who returned to the streets a day after a general election marred by violent demonstrations, witnesses said.
Protests broke out in commercial capital Dar es Salaam and other cities during the vote on Wednesday over the exclusion of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s two biggest challengers from the presidential race, as well as what demonstrators say is increasing government repression.
Police ordered an overnight curfew in Dar es Salaam, a city of more than seven million people, after government offices and other buildings were set ablaze.
Internet access, disrupted during the election, appeared to be returning intermittently on Thursday.
Tito Magoti, a Tanzanian human rights activist said he had received reports of at least five deaths in Wednesday’s protests. A diplomatic source, who asked not to be named, said there were solid reports at least 10 people had been killed in Dar es Salaam.
Reuters could not independently verify these reports and spokespeople for the government and police did not respond to requests for comment.
The state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation began airing the announcement of provisional election results, which showed Hassan winning commanding majorities in various constituencies.
Dozens of protesters returned to the streets of at least three neighbourhoods in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, where police fired gunshots and tear gas, witnesses said.
Other witnesses in the northern cities of Arusha and Mwanza said police fired tear gas on Thursday to disperse small protests.
The British government said international flights had been cancelled to and from Dar es Salaam’s airport and that the airport in Arusha and one near Mount Kilimanjaro were closed.
The U.S. Embassy advised its citizens to shelter in place, warning that travelling by road posed significant risks and that many international flights had been cancelled. – Reuters
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