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"Given the economic situation, I will be returning home after a very productive week of bilateral trade and investment meetings," said Mnangagwa in a tweet on Sunday. "We will be well represented in Davos by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube."
Three days of protests erupted after Mnangagwa announced a 150% increase in the price of gasoline last week. He said that this was to mitigate the impact of months of fuel shortages.
"The first priority is to restore the calm, stability and smooth functioning of Zimbabwe," Mnangagwa added in his tweet on Sunday.
A presidential spokesman said Saturday that the closure was intended to limit access to sites such as WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook, which the protesters used to coordinate the protests.
Security forces shot dead five people in the capital Harare on Wednesday and injured 25 others in Harare. Human rights organizations have blamed the violence on the police and the army.
CNN noted an increase in army patrols and the number of armed soldiers throughout Harare on Sunday after Mnangagwa spokesman George Charamba told a state-controlled media that the government "would not remain attentive as long as such narrow interests defend such violence".
"The answer so far is only a foretaste of things to come," added Charamba.
French President Emmanuel Macron – who, like Mnangagwa, is trying to quell violent street protests – is also skipping the forum, as have Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Journalist Columbus S. Mavhunga reported in Harare while Vasco Cotovio of CNN in London. Dakin Andone from CNN reported and wrote this story in Atlanta. David McKenzie of CNN contributed to this report.
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