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Reuters
Hundreds of people were arrested during this week's crackdown
Zimbabwe has blocked the Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp messaging application in the context of a crackdown on days of violent protests.
A coalition of local human rights groups said at least 12 people had been killed and many others beaten and tortured by security forces this week.
The NGO Forum for Human Rights in Zimbabwe has accused the authorities of cutting off the internet "to mask mbadive violations of human rights".
The protests were triggered Monday by a sharp rise in the price of fuel.
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The government blamed the opposition and political rights groups for the protests, which saw the riot police confront demonstrators in the capital Harare and in the southern city of Bulawayo after burning and blocking roads with stones.
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Reuters
The UN has called on the government to end the "excessive use of force"
Looting took place and some businesses and schools in both cities were forced to close. The soldiers guard the service stations, where there are still long lines of motorists in search of gasoline.
The UN has called on the government to end the "excessive use of force" by security forces, including live ammunition and allegations of nightly door searches and beating. wore.
"The doctors' badociations say that more than 60 people have been treated at the hospital for gunshot wounds, this is not a way to react to the expression of economic grievances on the part of the population, "said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesman for human rights of the United Nations, quoted by the Reuters news agency.
The NGO Forum for Human Rights in Zimbabwe said that it had recorded at least 844 human rights violations in all.
On Thursday, prominent activist Evan Mawarire, who had called for a demonstration on social media, was accused of subverting the government, a crime punishable by 20 years in prison. He gained fame as a leading figure in #ThisFlag protests against former president, Robert Mugabe, in 2016.
Why has the price of fuel gone up?
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the increase was intended to address shortages caused by increased fuel consumption and "generalized" illegal trade.
But many Zimbabweans – exhausted by years of economic hardship – suddenly discovered that they could not even afford to take the bus ticket to work.
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They say the president, who is touring Russia and Asian countries this week, is not keeping his promises after his election last year in disputed polls.
It struggles to revive the economy, which is experiencing high inflation while wages stagnate.
The country of southern Africa is facing a serious shortage of US dollars and confidence in its bonds, which can only be negotiated in Zimbabwe, is weak.
Bond notes, or "bollars", are supposed to have the same value as the dollar, but have lost value because of lack of foreign currency guaranteeing the ticket, and are now worth much less than a dollar.
Rising fuel prices mean that the price of gasoline has risen from $ 1.24 per liter to $ 3.31, and that of diesel from $ 1.36 per liter to $ 3.11.
New prices mean Zimbabwe now has the most expensive fuel in the world, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com
How can the government disable the Internet?
By Chris Fox, Technology Journalist
Whether you are online using the home phone line or accessing the Internet via a mobile phone network, the websites you visit are transmitted to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) before they reach you. you.
It is therefore easy for the government to order Internet service providers to cut off access to specific services and websites or to the Internet as a whole.
Econet says that is what happened in Zimbabwe: it was ordered to block the access of its subscribers.
This is not the first time ISPs have been ordered to block services. In 2016, a Brazilian judge ordered Internet service providers to block access to WhatsApp, after its owner, Facebook, did not transmit the requested information in the context of a criminal investigation. .
In the United Kingdom, internet service providers are regularly condemned to block access to websites offering illegally downloaded movies and music.
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Is there a total shutdown of the Internet?
Authorities cut Internet access across the country earlier in the week and again on Friday morning – although an intermittent restitution was reported in the afternoon.
However, access to all social media and WhatsApp apps remained stuck throughout the week.
If there is a partial Internet connection, some users may bypbad the blocking of social networks using virtual private networks (VPNs), which can hide the location of a user.
Andrew Harding, a BBC journalist for Southern Africa, said the power outage on the internet had added a deepening sense of the crisis to a country that hoped its worst years would have pbaded .
The crackdown was a feature of the ruling government, the Zanu-PF, led by longtime leader Robert Mugabe, who had been ousted in November 2017 during a takeover by the army. It does not seem like much has changed since he was deported, explains our journalist.
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