🔗 Share this article Around 700 Supposedly Slain in Tanzanian Voting Clashes, Opposition Claims Per the chief rival faction, approximately 700 citizens have purportedly been killed during a three-day period of election-related clashes in the East African nation. Unrest Begins on Voting Day Uprisings erupted on Wednesday over what activists called the suppression of the opposition after the removal of major contenders from the presidential ballot. Fatality Figures Stated A opposition representative declared that scores of people had been killed since the unrest started. "At present, the number of deaths in the port city is approximately 350 and for another city it is more than 200. Including figures from elsewhere throughout the country, the total figure is nearly 700," the spokesperson remarked. He noted that the toll could be much higher because fatalities may be happening during a night-time curfew that was imposed from election day. Further Accounts An official source supposedly claimed there had been reports of exceeding 500 deaths, "possibly 700-800 in the nationwide." Amnesty International said it had obtained information that no fewer than 100 people had been killed. The opposition asserted their numbers had been compiled by a network of activists attending clinics and health centers and "documenting the deceased." Demands for Intervention The opposition urged the authorities to "cease targeting our protesters" and requested a caretaker administration to enable democratic votes. "End police brutality. Respect the choice of the people which is electoral justice," the official stated. Authorities Measures Authorities responded by imposing a restriction. Internet disruption were also reported, with international watchdogs reporting it was countrywide. The following day, the army chief criticized the clashes and labeled the protesters "lawbreakers". He stated law enforcement would seek to control the unrest. Global Reaction United Nations human rights office said it was "deeply concerned" by the casualties in the protests, adding it had received information that at least 10 people had been killed by security forces. The organization stated it had obtained trustworthy information of deaths in Dar es Salaam, in a northwestern region and an eastern area, with law enforcement firing gunfire and chemical irritants to disperse protesters. Legal Opinion A human rights attorney claimed it was "unacceptable" for authorities to resort to arms, stating that the country's president "ought to refrain from using the law enforcement against the people." "The president must heed the citizens. The mood of the country is that there was no election … The people cannot vote for only one option," the advocate stated.