Zimbabwe: 5 feared dead in protests, Internet cut off

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - At least five people were reportedly killed in Zimbabwe on Monday as thousands protested against high fuel prices, a local human rights group said Tuesday.

“The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) reports that over 26 people reported being shot by the police, of which only 12 received medical attention,” the group said in a statement posted on Facebook.

The group also condemned the use of live ammunition on protesters by police in the southern African nation.

Local media reports quoted State Security Minister Owen Ncube saying some lives had been lost and police officers were injured, but gave no figures.

On Tuesday morning, local media reports also claimed that Zimbabwean authorities had reportedly shut down the Internet as protests entered a second day.

Zimbabwe technology news website TechZim claimed it had reliably been informed that the government directed telecom operators to cut off Internet access.

George Manyati, a resident of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, confirmed on Twitter that he could not access the Internet. “Got blocked from WhatsApp since morning,” he wrote on Tuesday.

Anadolu Agency correspondents in Zimbabwe were unreachable via social media, as messages sent to them went undelivered.

Zimbabwe’s NewsDay asked its readers on Twitter if they were facing any difficulties in accessing the Internet. Many responded that there was a blackout, though they could access Twitter.

Protests broke out in Zimbabwe on Monday two days after President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced a hike in fuel prices.

Angry mobs swarmed roads in the suburbs of the capital Harare and Bulawayo calling on the government to immediately start talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance Party on repairing the country’s bleeding economy.

Protests were reported in Harare and Bulawayo as protesters barricaded roads and burned tires, blocking traffic for a second day.

Efforts to get a comment from Zimbabwean government spokesmen were fruitless, as phones went unanswered.