(Reuters) -Tanzania's main opposition party said on Friday hundreds of people had been killed in protests over elections this week, as the U.N. secretary-general called for an investigation into allegations of excessive use of force.
The U.N. human rights office said credible reports indicated at least 10 people were killed in protests in three cities, the first public estimate of any fatalities by an international body since Wednesday's vote.
The foreign ministers of Britain, Canada and Norway issued
a joint statement expressing concern over the situation and urging the Tanzanian authorities to act with maximum restraint and to respect the right of assembly and of free expression.
Speaking to Reuters in some of the government's first public comments on the unrest, Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo said the opposition's death toll was "hugely exaggerated" but that the authorities had not yet tabulated casualties. He denied that security officers had used excessive force.
Reuters could not independently verify the casualty figures.
Protesters have taken to the streets since Wednesday, angered by the exclusion of President Samia Suluhu Hassan's two biggest challengers from the race and what they described as widespread repression.
Witnesses have said police fired tear gas and gunshots to break up some demonstrations.
Police have imposed an overnight nationwide curfew over the past two nights after government offices and other buildings were set ablaze. Internet access has been disrupted since Wednesday.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called "for a thorough and impartial investigation into all allegations of excessive use of force" and deplored the loss of life.
Partial election results announced on Thursday and Friday showed Hassan winning commanding majorities across the country, and complete results were expected in the coming hours.
HEAVY SECURITY PRESENCE
The unrest presents a test for Hassan, who won praise after taking office in 2021 for easing repression but has more recently faced criticism from opposition parties and activists after a series of arrests and alleged abductions of opponents.
Hassan has denied allegations of widespread rights abuses. She said last year she had ordered an investigation into reports of abductions, but no official findings have been released.
Soldiers and police patrolled the streets of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam on Friday, preventing people from moving around without a valid reason.
John Kitoka - a spokesperson for the CHADEMA party which was barred from the election for refusing to sign a code of conduct and had its leader arrested for treason in April - said the party had documented about 700 deaths since Wednesday based on accounts from health workers.
He said protests continued on Friday in several cities, although they had waned in some due to the heavy security.
"We are calling for the protests to continue until our demands for electoral reforms are met," Kitoka told Reuters.
GOVERNMENT SAYS VIOLENCE LIMITED
Foreign Affairs Minister Kombo said there had only been a "very few small pockets of incidents during the election period" and that the violence was caused by criminal elements.
"Most Tanzanians are so much disappointed with what has happened and they are calling for their government to end this impunity," he said.
U.N. human rights spokesperson Seif Magango told reporters there were credible reports of at least 10 people killed in Dar es Salaam, Shinyanga and Morogoro.
One Dar es Salaam resident, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, told Reuters a family member had been shot dead outside a hospital when he was mistaken for a protester.
A police spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
(Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani and George Obulutsa; Editing by Aaron Ross, Ros Russell, Andrew Heavens and Gareth Jones)
