‘Many killed’ as Zimbabwean soldiers open fire on fuel hike protesters

Many people were reportedly killed in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe, during protests against hike in fuel prices.

According to Associated Press, a military helicopter launched teargas into a crowd of protesters at a busy transportation hub on Tuesday, with foot soldiers also deployed to disperse them.

Giving account of what ensued, some rights groups said security forces opened fire on the crowd of protesters, killing five people, with 26 suffering varying degrees of gunshot wounds.

The government had over the weekend announced increase in the price of petrol from $1.24 to $3.31 a litre.

Diesel was increased from $1.36 to $3.11 per litre, making it the most expensive in the world according to data by globalprices.com.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa had said the fuel price hike would address the ongoing problems in the country.

He said the government will “crackdown on elements bent on taking advantage of the current fuel shortages to cause and sponsor unrest and instability in the country.”

Owen Ncube, Zimbabwe’s security minister, said MDC, the main opposition party and some civil society groups were behind the violent riots.

He said it was part of a plot to overthrow Mnangagwa who assumed office over a year ago.

The ongoing protest is billed as the most deadly in the country since the post-election violence that erupted in the southern African nation in August 2018.