Mugabe Facing Heat at African Summit
A clash between President Robert Mugabe's government in Zimbabwe and the opposition group Movement for Democratic Change escalated, with the MDC claiming that leader Morgan Tsvangirai and 20 other group members have been arrested.
A clash between President Robert Mugabe’s government in Zimbabwe and the opposition group Movement for Democratic Change escalated, with the MDC claiming that leader Morgan Tsvangirai and 20 other group members have been arrested. Mugabe’s camp is denying Tsvangirai’s detainment, which allegedly came just as the president was set to meet with a group of African leaders in Tanzania.
For a different take on this situation, click here to read the latest from Zimbabwe’s state-sponsored Herald newspaper.
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The BBC’s Peter Biles says observers believe Mr. Mugabe wanted to use the arrests to show he was still in charge and could contain the opposition while he was attending the Tanzania summit.
In Dar es Salaam, Mr. Mugabe is expected to blame tensions in his country on an opposition campaign of violence.
The government has consistently accused the MDC of using violence and attacking the police.
[The BBC’s] correspondent in Tanzania, Peter Greste, says that Mr. Mugabe built up strong regional support for standing up to former colonial masters but that is now waning amid the brutal suppression of opposition protests.
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