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The streets of Eswatini were deserted on Wednesday and pro-democracy activists claimed eight people were killed in clashes with police in the latest clashes in Africa’s last absolute monarchy.
Protests, which had been relatively low-profile for weeks, intensified on Monday in the small, generally stable, landlocked kingdom previously known as Swaziland.
Protesters took to the streets of the kingdom’s two largest cities, Mbabane and Manzini, to demand political reforms.
Police declined to confirm reports of deaths and injuries, saying they did not disclose the information to international media.
The government, which deployed soldiers as angry crowds blocked traffic and looted shops, imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew – citing the increase in coronavirus cases.
But witnesses said violent clashes continued between protesters and police.
Lucky Lukhele, spokesperson for Swaziland Solidarity Network, a pro-democracy network, said eight activists were gunned down overnight in Manzini.
Lukhele said they were among around 28 protesters who had been shot, some of whom were taken to hospital in the early hours of the morning.
Internet access has been limited since Tuesday, he added, accusing the government of a shutdown.
Wandile Dludlu, secretary general of the United People’s Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), said on Wednesday that shops were closed and towns were “run by soldiers”.
“Between yesterday and today, we have new reports of nearly 18 people who have been shot,” he told AFP.
United States calls for restraint
Burning tires barricaded the streets on Wednesday afternoon, with gunshots heard sporadically in the deserted streets of Mbabane, according to an AFP correspondent in the field.
“We slept to the sound of gunshots and woke up again to the sound of gunshots,” said Mbongwa Dlamini, head of the National Teachers Association of Swaziland.
“The looting and destruction of property has become intense,” he added.
A brewery owned in part by King Mswati III was also set on fire, Dlamini said.
Eswatini map. By (AFP) In neighboring South Africa, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) issued an “urgent appeal” to the authorities of Eswatini to move away “from autocracy, firm crisis management and repression brutal legitimate civil concerns “.
US State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter called on the authorities to “show restraint.”
“The United States urges all stakeholders in this situation to not only remain calm but also peaceful,” she added.
Eswatini has long stifled dissident and pro-democracy movements, with political parties banned since 1973, in this southern African country, where the king appoints government ministers and controls parliament.
But latent frustration turned this month into sporadic protests that prompted the government to ban all protests last week – a move that only served to fuel further anger.
The ANC demanded the authorization of the opposition political parties and the release of political activists.
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