"The streets of the largest city in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, were largely deserted on Tuesday after police and soldiers were deployed to prevent anti-government protests on the country's Independence Day. Presidential and parliamentary elections on October 29 triggered the worst political violence in Tanzania's post-independence history after President Samia Suluhu Hassan was reelected in a vote in which leading opposition candidates were barred from running. Hassan's government was accused of rigging the polls and overseeing a campaign of murders and abductions that sparked nationwide riots. United Nations human rights experts estimated last week that at least 700 people were extrajudicially killed in the violence, while Tanzanian opposition figures have spoken of over 1,000 victims of an alleged "shoot-to-kill" policy."
"On the streets of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's economic capital, police were carrying out ID checks while city center shops were closed. One reporter for the French AFP news agency said he was stopped and searched seven times in just over 30 minutes while walking through the city. And a local bus conductor told the Reuters news agency that his company was not operating its usual "essential service" because "we cannot risk going out" for fear of violence."
Dar es Salaam was largely deserted as police and soldiers were deployed to prevent anti-government protests on Independence Day. Presidential and parliamentary elections on October 29 triggered the worst political violence in Tanzania's post-independence history after President Samia Suluhu Hassan was reelected amid exclusion of leading opposition candidates. The government faced accusations of rigging the vote and overseeing murders and abductions that sparked nationwide riots. United Nations human rights experts estimated at least 700 extrajudicial killings, while opposition figures reported over 1,000 victims alleging a "shoot-to-kill" policy. Authorities arrested hundreds, charged many with treason, and banned planned Independence Day celebrations.
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