Harare, Aug 26 (AFP\/APP): Zimbabwe’s main opposition group claimed Friday that its supporters have come under systematic attacks ahead of next year’s national vote, as rights groups warn of a worsening crackdown on opponents.<\/p>\n
Nelson Chamisa, who leads the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), said political gatherings in four rural areas had to be called off this week after attackers beat up would-be attendees and damaged their vehicles.<\/p>\n
“There is unprecedented violence — terror has become a daily dose,” he told a press conference in the capital Harare.<\/p>\n
“People in those communities are not allowed to freely associate.”<\/p>\n
A police spokesman said they were “yet to receive any reports” of the alleged violence.<\/p>\n
The CCC is an offshoot of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance party, which lost by a tight margin against the long-ruling ZANU-PF party in Zimbabwe’s 2018 general elections.<\/p>\n
ZANU-PF representatives could not immediately be reached by phone to comment on Chamisa’s allegations.<\/p>\n
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement claiming four journalists were also victims of a “brutal assault” after filming a convoy of ZANU-PF vehicles on Thursday that were reported to be blockading the CCC rally in the central town of Gokwe.<\/p>\n
“Zimbabwean authorities must investigate and hold those responsible to account,” CPJ’s Africa coordinator Angela Quintal said in a statement.<\/p>\n
They must “ensure that the press can report freely without fear of attack, especially with the country set to hold national elections next year”, she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Harare, Aug 26 (AFP\/APP): Zimbabwe’s main opposition group claimed Friday that its supporters have come under systematic attacks ahead of next year’s national vote, as rights groups warn of a worsening crackdown on opponents. Nelson Chamisa, who leads the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), […]<\/p>\n
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