Election violence continues in Zanzibar
By Ali Sultan
Zanzibar - Attackers using stones and crude weapons attacked and destroyed a van carrying a senior police officer in Zanzibar early on Tuesday in violence apparently related to weekend elections.
Regional police chief George Kizuguto was patrolling Zanzibar's main market when a mob began attacking his vehicle and the officers accompanying him, said Ramadhan Kinyogo, a senior detective. No serious injuries resulted.
"He was assessing and evaluating the security situation in town," Kinyogo said. "Suddenly, they found unknown attackers using stones and crude weapons were attacking them. The police chief made emergency call to the police headquarters before anti-riot police moved in to restore order and rescue him."
The violence was only the latest clash between the police in demonstrators since the election campaign in the semiautonomous archipelago began on September 5. General elections in Tanzania and Zanzibar are scheduled for October 30.
Despite appeals for calm from local religious leaders as well as foreign officials, the police and political parties on Zanzibar remain deeply suspicious of one another.
The opposition Civic United Front has called on its supporters to remain outside polling stations after they vote to ensure the election is not rigged. Zanzibari law calls for votes to be counted at each polling station in front of observers from all parties.
Zanzibari police, widely seen as sympathetic to the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, have ordered all voters to return immediately to their homes.
International observers called the last election in 2000 seriously flawed. The threat of violence is high around this year's vote with militants threatening violence if the vote is not free and fair. - Sapa-AP
Published on the Web by IOL on 2005-10-25 06:30:46
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