1 August 2018
Deadly poll violence in Zimbabwe capital
By BBC
The government says the army was deployed in central Harare to help police restore order.
The opposition MDC Alliance condemned the crackdown, saying it was a reminder of the "dark days" of Robert Mugabe's rule.
It alleges that the governing Zanu-PF party has rigged Monday's elections.
Parliamentary results show Zanu-PF heading for a big majority in the first elections since long-serving ruler Mr Mugabe was ousted from power.
The presidential result has yet to be declared. However, the MDC Alliance insists that its presidential candidate, Nelson Chamisa, won Monday's election.
European Union monitors have expressed concern over the length of time it is taking to declare the presidential result.
Army vehicles and police trucks rolled into Zimbabwe's main city on Wednesday after the wait for the election results took an ugly turn.
MDC Alliance supporters had been gathering in various parts of Harare since the morning, but when news came that Zanu-PF had won the majority of seats in parliament and that the presidential results were not ready, the previously upbeat mood changed.
Opposition supporters went on the rampage down Harare's busy streets, heading towards an old Zanu-PF office and carrying large stones, sticks and anything else they could grab along the way. The crowd chanted: "We want Chamisa."
They believe the election has been stolen, and are demanding the MDC be announced as the winner.
Riot police using water cannon and tear gas arrived to a chaotic scene of burning tyres and an unrelenting crowd. There were hundreds of them. They jeered and pelted the police vans with stones.
In another part of the city where more opposition protesters had gathered, the army used whips to disperse them.
Today's clashes may not have been on the scale of the "days of old", where intimidation by security police was the order of the day, but it's certainly not the peace many had been praising until now. Something has changed here.
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