Zimbabwe doctors group reports 68 gun wounds treated

Sixty-eight Zimbabweans have been treated for gunshot wounds, 17 of whom underwent emergency surgery, after violent protests this week triggered by a steep rise in fuel prices, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said on Thursday.

Its statement reports more than 100 other cases of "assaults with sharp objects, booted feet, baton sticks" and more.

The statement late on Wednesday also notes a number of bites from the alleged unleashing of police dogs, and the "dragging of patients with life-threatening conditions" to court.

The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) said its members had treated 172 people, some with dog bites, in private and public hospitals since Monday, when the protests erupted in the capital, Harare, and the second city, Bulawayo.

“There are cases of patients who had chest trauma and fractured limbs who were forcibly taken from the hospital to attend court despite the advice of doctors,” ZAHDR said in a statement.

The protests pose a major challenge for President Emmerson Mnangagwa who promised to repair the creaking economy after he replaced long-time leader Robert Mugabe ousted in a November 2017 coup.

Scores of civilians, including a prominent activist and an opposition legislator, have been detained and are expected to appear in court on Thursday to face public violence charges.

Others were beaten, lawyers and witnesses said, pointing to a heavy crackdown on dissent by security forces.

Zimbabweans had hoped Mnangagwa would make good on pre-election pledges to revive the economy and break with the Mugabe era, but Zimbabwe has fallen back into familiar ways.

Dollar shortages are battering the economy, rocketing inflation is destroying the value of citizens’ savings and the government is reacting forcefully to crush dissent.

Zimbabwe has faced three days of protests over what is now the world's most expensive gasoline. The government has blamed the opposition for unrest and announced more than 600 arrests.