The Latest: Zimbabwe rights commission says 8 killed

By The Associated Press

HARARE, Zimbabwe — The Latest on Zimbabwe’s deadly unrest (all times local):

11:30 a.m.

The government-backed Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission says it has documented eight deaths in a days-long crackdown on protests over a dramatic fuel price increase.

The constitutional body’s statement on Tuesday came hours after President Emmerson Mnangagwa cut short an overseas trip to return home and announced that violence by security forces would be investigated.

The rights commission criticizes the use of the military and live ammunition and says the government has not learned from the deadly post-election crackdown in August in which six people died.

The commission says the government should “ensure compensation for those that have been victims of military and police brutality.”

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9 a.m.

Zimbabwe’s president calls violence by security forces “unacceptable” and says it will be investigated after a week of economic crisis and crackdown in which activists said a dozen people were killed.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday called for a “national dialogue” among political parties. He spoke upon returning home after skipping a visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to deal with unrest.

Zimbabwe’s military was in the streets last week for the first time since post-election violence in August in which six people were killed. This time, people reported being hunted down in their homes by security forces and severely beaten.

Mnangagwa says chaos and insubordination will not be tolerated and “if required, heads will roll.”

He defends the dramatic fuel price increase that began the unrest.

The Associated Press

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