Many shops remain closed after three people killed during clashes with soldiers and police in capital
A tense calm has returned to Harare a day after three people were shot dead as soldiers and police fought running battles with hundreds of protesters, firing live ammunition, teargas and water cannon.
Not even 72 hours after polls closed in Zimbabwe’s presidential election – the first following the fall of Robert Mugabe last year and billed as the beginning of a new era for the impoverished country – soldiers patrolled the streets of the capital.
Many shops were closed and traffic remained light on Thursday. Scattered debris, scorch marks from fires and a few dozen soldiers marked the scenes of violence of the day before.
“We are scared. We don’t know what’s going to happen now. I have to earn a living but I would like to be at home now,” said Mildred Masara, a hotel worker in Harare.
“Yesterday was a very sad day for Zimbabwe,” said Gift, minibus taxi driver, glancing over his shoulder as a soldier smoking a cigarette looked on. “We hope things remain quiet and we can all just forget about this election. We don’t know if it was fair. The government will do what they want.”
The army was deployed in the capital on Wednesday after police proved unable to quell demonstrators who claimed Monday’s historic election was being rigged.
In a late-night press conference, the home affairs minister, Obert Mpofu, warned that the government “will not tolerate any of the actions that were witnessed today”.
“The opposition … have perhaps interpreted our understanding to be weak, and I think they are testing our resolve and I think they are making a big mistake,” he said.
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