Zimbabwe police deny using live ammunition against protesters

Zimbabwe police have denied reports that they used live ammunition in downtown Harare to disperse an anti-government protest on Saturday.

A coalition of opposition parties under the banner of the National Electoral Reform Agenda says the police used live bullets in dispersing demonstrators.

The spokesman for the opposition coalition, Douglas Mwonzora said “in Kuwadzana, Dzivaresekwa, Mufakose, Epworth and Kambuzuma, live ammunition was fired from a truck which was being used by police and militia.” He reiterated that two people were injured as a result of the shootings.

Police on Saturday managed to halt Anti-Mugabe protests in Harare.

The security force had issued an order barring protests in the Harare, but campaigners on Friday vowed to challenge the ban through the courts, which overturned a similar order earlier this month.

The coalition group is demanding for reforms ahead of the 2018 election, in which 92-year-old president Robert Mugabe plans to stand again for an election.

Zimbabwean police dismissed reports that they used live ammunition in downtown Harare to disperse an anti-gov… https://t.co/DAZwrTur7r

— ShinraTensei (@24tebs) September 17, 2016

A non-profit organisation group, Zimbabwe lawyers for Human Rights confirmed in a tweet that dozens of protesters had been arrested.

The southern African country has been rocked by an unprecedented wave of protests since July calling on president Robert Mugabe to fix the economy and respect the country’s human rights.