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Three confirmed dead in Zimbabwe post-election violence

Violence erupted on Wednesday in Zimbabwe.
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Zimbabwe’s police have confirmed the deaths of three people on Wednesday.  This is after violence erupted in Harare following election results announcement.  Clashes broke out between thousands of supporters of the opposition MDC party and the police after streets were barricaded and tyres set alight.

In an statement made on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation 9ZBC), police spokesperson Charity Charamba said regular police had been overwhelmed by the protesters, forcing Police Commissioner General to ask the home affairs minister in charge of the police to deploy armed soldiers. The police reacted with rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Gunfire was also heard.

The police have sent condolences to the families of the deceased.  An investigation is to be conducted on the circumstances that led to the deaths.

Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi has condemned the violence.  Ziyambi says there are proper channels available in the country for the MDC to voice its concerns about the electoral process.

He says now is the time for engagement to solve these challenges: “If you look at the pre-election environment you could see that we behaved in a calm and dignified manner.”

“But what we have witnessed this afternoon (Wednesday) from the MDC –  disrupting business,  closing business,  disrupting shops and breaking windows; this was uncalled-for and we hoped that they were going to accept results as they are which their agents signed for at each and every polling station. ”

Additional reports from SABC News

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