Roughly 700 Apparently Killed in Tanzania Poll Demonstrations, Rival Declares
Per the chief opposition party, around 700 citizens have purportedly perished during three days of election-related demonstrations in the East African nation.
Violence Begins on Election Day
Protests broke out on Wednesday over allegations that activists labeled the stifling of the rival camp after the removal of major candidates from the presidential race.
Death Estimates Reported
An rival representative stated that hundreds of people had been killed since the demonstrations began.
"As we speak, the death toll in the port city is about 350 and for Mwanza it is 200-plus. Combined with figures from other regions around the country, the overall number is about 700," the official remarked.
He added that the number could be much higher because killings might be occurring during a night-time curfew that was imposed from election day.
Additional Estimates
- A security source reportedly claimed there had been information of over 500 deaths, "perhaps 700-800 in the nationwide."
- Amnesty International said it had gathered information that at least 100 civilians had been lost their lives.
- Rival groups claimed their numbers had been collected by a team of supporters visiting hospitals and health centers and "tallying dead bodies."
Demands for Change
Rival officials called for the authorities to "stop targeting our activists" and requested a transitional administration to pave the way for free and fair elections.
"End police brutality. Uphold the will of the citizens which is democratic rights," the spokesperson declared.
Government Measures
Officials reacted by imposing a restriction. Web outages were also reported, with international observers indicating it was nationwide.
On Thursday, the army chief criticized the violence and referred to the demonstrators "lawbreakers". He said law enforcement would attempt to manage the unrest.
Global Concern
The UN human rights office said it was "alarmed" by the fatalities and harm in the demonstrations, adding it had received accounts that at least 10 people had been killed by security forces.
The organization reported it had obtained trustworthy information of fatalities in Dar es Salaam, in a northwestern region and Morogoro, with law enforcement firing real bullets and teargas to scatter demonstrators.
Expert Opinion
An human rights lawyer stated it was "unreasonable" for law enforcement to resort to arms, adding that the country's leader "should avoid deploying the law enforcement against the civilians."
"She should pay attention to the public. The sentiment of the country is that there was an unfair process ā¦ The people cannot choose only one option," the lawyer commented.
