Zimbabwe's president is urging political leaders to advocate for peace "as this day that ended in tragedy comes to a close."
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is tweeting not long after he blamed the opposition for deadly violence in the capital that he said was "meant to disrupt the electoral process."
Latest news by email
The afternoon's latest local news
Zimbabweans are shocked after the military swept into Harare and opened fire to disperse opposition supporters protesting alleged manipulation in Monday's election. At least three people were killed.
Both the opposition and Western election observers have urged that results of the presidential election be released as soon as possible. Zimbabwe's electoral commission says "sometime tomorrow" it will say when those will be announced.
 |
| The Latest: Zimbabwe Leader Pleads For Peace After ‘Tragedy’ |
President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a statement carried by state media says the opposition under Nelson Chamisa is responsible for the chaos "meant to disrupt the electoral process."
Police have invoked a strict security act that forbids public gatherings.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has told reporters that Chamisa is "shocked" by the events in Harare. A spokesman says that "we are seriously meant to wonder that this means. Are we at war?"
The opposition says it condemns violence in all its forms.
Both the opposition and Western election observers have urged that presidential election results be released as soon as possible. Zimbabwe's electoral commission says "sometime tomorrow" it will say when those will be released.
7:35 p.m. Zimbabwe's state broadcaster says three people are dead after the military swept into the capital to disperse opposition supporters protesting Monday's election results.
At Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, family members wept in the emergency room where one body lay on a stretcher. Ignatius Neshava identified him as 42-year-old Ishmeil Kumeni, a street vendor caught in the crossfire.
Brighton Chizhande, chairman of the Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights, says they have confirmed one death from a gunshot wound near the heart and they are following up reports of four others killed.
He says the injured include people with deep wounds in the shoulder and in the buttocks and one person with a "gunshot wound to the penis."
