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Zimbabwe police clash with protesters at fuel rise protests

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Harare: Police fired teargas as angry protesters barricaded roads with burning tyres and rocks in Zimbabwe on Monday, after the government more than doubled the price of fuel over the weekend.


At least 13 people sustained gunshot wounds during protests against the shock price hike, said one doctors’ association.


Protesters turned back drivers and blocked buses from carrying passengers in Zimbabwe’s two main cities of Harare and Bulawayo. An AFP journalist saw protesters looting a supermarket.


The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said it had “received widespread reports of protesters who have sustained gunshot wounds after being shot during the ongoing nationwide protests”.


Thirteen cases had been reported by midday in and around Harare, it said in its statement. The extent of the injuries were still being assessed, it added.


Residents in Bulawayo said police fired teargas “indiscriminately” along city centre streets and into some residential areas. Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second city, is seen as an opposition stronghold.


Shops and banks pulled down their shutters in downtown Harare as riot police patrolled the streets and a military helicopter flew over the capital.


President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday night announced a more than 100 per cent rise in the price of petrol and diesel in a bid to improve supplies as the country battles its worst gasoline shortages in a decade.


Among the protesters at the Bulawayo demonstration was the celebrated writer Philani Nyoni.


“We have suffered enough,” he said, describing the government’s decision as “stupid”.


Zimbabwe’s economy has been in a slump for more than a decade, suffering cash shortages, high unemployment and recently a scarcity of staples such as bread and cooking oil.


In his televised address late on Saturday, Mnangagwa said the prices of petrol and diesel would more than double to tackle a shortfall caused by increased fuel usage and “rampant” illegal trading. Petrol prices rose from $1.24 a litre to $3.31 (2.89 euros), with diesel up from $1.36 a litre to $3.11 starting on Sunday — one of the highest pump prices in the world.


The main labour alliance, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called for a three-day stay-at-home strike, accusing the government of lacking empathy for the already overburdened poor.


 — AFP



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