DW exclusive: Post-election violence in Tanzania's Mwanza

"Warning: This article contains descriptions of violence. Gunfire echoed through and then abruptly, the country went silent. Rumors of mass killings by security forces in Tanzania spread fast, but as the internet went dark and bodies disappeared from the streets, the true scale of the violence slipped out of reach. Months later, there is still no official death toll. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has meanwhile firmly rejected allegations of state-led violence and insists that security forces were responding to looting and an attempted coup."

"When we are accused of using excessive force to quell the post-election violence, the question is: what level of force would have been considered minimal?" Suluhu Hassan said. A DW investigation into two major incidents in Mwanza region found evidence of atrocities. Eyewitness and survivor accounts, leaked police files, ballistics reports and geolocation data indicate the use of lethal force. Survivors and eyewitnesses told DW that unarmed civilians were gunned down and soldiers later removed the bodies."

Gunfire echoed across towns and then abruptly the country fell silent as rumors of mass killings by security forces spread. The internet was shut down and bodies disappeared from streets, leaving no official death toll months later. President Samia Suluhu Hassan denied state-led violence and said forces responded to looting and an attempted coup. An investigation into two incidents in Mwanza found eyewitness, survivor, leaked police, ballistics and geolocation evidence indicating lethal force. Survivors said unarmed civilians were gunned down and soldiers later removed bodies. Protests over alleged electoral fraud spread nationwide, prompting curfews and an internet blackout, while UN experts and opposition estimates differ widely on casualties.

Read at www.dw.com