Iran Press/Africa: Angry protests over high increase of fuel price held in the capital, Harare, and the country’s second city of Bulawayo on Monday, two days after 100-percent rise in the price of petrol and diesel.
Zimbabwe President 'Emmerson Mnangagwe' said that his government was forced to increase fuel price to tackle the worst fuel shortage in a decade, Iran Press News Agency reported.
Petrol prices rose from $1.24 a liter to $3.31, with diesel up from $1.36 a liter to $3.11 starting Sunday.
The new rise in price is seen by many as the beginning of a tough year under Mnangagwa who won disputed election last July and grab power from longtime president Robert Mugabe.
Mnangagwa had pledged to revive the economy and end the country’s international isolation.
In Harare, protesters barricade roads and blocked buses from carrying passengers. In Bulawayo, police fired tear gas at the protesters, who gathered outside the high court.
Angry protesters also attacked minibuses heading to the city center and used burning tires and stones to block the main routes into Bulawayo.
In the capital city, Zimbabwe police were deployed to patrol and stop and search citizens.
The leader of opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Nelson Chamisa, warned “about a national crisis which is descending into a humanitarian crisis.”
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe President Mnangagwa warned "elements who are taking advantage of the current fuel shortages to cause and sponsor unrest and instability in the country.”
Beside of labor alliance of the 'Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions' (ZCTU) warning for staging strike, Zimbabwean president faced doctors and teachers' Union strike for better pay and improved work conditions at the moment.105/205
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