"Police have fired gunshots on the streets of Tanzania's largest city during protests after a tumultuous presidential election, as Amnesty International reports the deaths of at least two people. In Dar-es-Salaam, a city of more than seven million people, protesters who defied a curfew on Thursday in the Mbagala, Gongo la Mboto and Kiluvya neighbourhoods were met with tear gas and the sounds of gunfire on the day after the election."
"Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International's regional director for East and Southern Africa, said in a statement the organisation had received reports that one member of the public and one police officer had been killed. He called the deaths deeply disturbing and urged police to exercise restraint. The Tanzanian authorities must promptly conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the unlawful use of lethal force against protesters, and the perpetrators must be held accountable, Chagutah added."
"Internet access remained down across the city, where hundreds had set polling stations alight and chanted their discontent on election day. We have been silent for so long, one protester shouted in a video posted to TikTok and verified by Al Jazeera. What have we been doing? Wednesday's election saw President Samia Suluhu Hassan's two biggest challengers excluded from the race, infuriating citizens and rights groups who have also decried an intensifying crackdown against opposition members, activists and journalists."
Protests erupted in Dar-es-Salaam after two main opposition figures were barred from the presidential election. Police fired gunshots and used tear gas as demonstrators in Mbagala, Gongo la Mboto and Kiluvya defied a curfew. Amnesty International reported at least two deaths: one member of the public and one police officer, and called for an independent investigation into unlawful use of lethal force. Internet access was shut across the city while hundreds set polling stations alight and chanted their discontent. Protesters organised via the Zello app despite the blackout and blocked roads nationwide, including the road to Julius Nyerere International Airport. The United States embassy issued a security alert.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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