Zim army riots in Harare for second time in a week
Dozens of Zimbabwean soldiers took to the streets of Harare on Monday, attacking banks and looting shops after they were unable to withdraw their latest pay cheques, which are almost worthless due to out-of-control inflation.
The soldiers were joined by some civilian protestors and clashed with riot police who fired tear gas. There have also been unconfirmed reports of live ammunition fired. This was the second protest in the last five days. On Thursday last week soldiers ran amok on the streets of the capital, assaulting foreign currency traders as banks ran out of money.
Due to the recent violence, the intensification of the cholera epidemic and Harare’s water being cut off on Monday, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) amended its travel warning for Zimbabwe advising against all but essential travel to Harare City Centre. The US Department of State has yet to issue an alert for Zimbabwe.
