DODOMA, Tanzania: Tanzania’s president has, for the first time since the disputed October election, commented on a six-day Internet shutdown as the country went through its worst postelection violence.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday expressed “sympathy” to diplomats and foreign nationals living in the country, saying the government would strive to ensure there is never a repeat of the same.
Hassan won the October election with more than 97 percent of the vote after candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from running and the country’s main opposition leader remained in prison facing treason charges.
Violence broke out on election day and went on for days as the Internet was shut down amid a heavy police crackdown that left hundreds of people dead, according to rights groups.
Hassan blamed the violence on foreigners and pardoned hundreds of young people who had been arrested, saying they were acting under peer pressure.
Speaking to ambassadors, high commissioners and representatives of international organizations on Thursday in the capital, Dodoma, she sought to reassure envoys of their safety, saying the government would remain vigilant to prevent a repeat of the disruption.
“To our partners in the diplomatic community and foreigners residing here in Tanzania, I express my sincere sympathy for the uncertainty, service restrictions and Internet shutdowns you experienced,” she said.
Hassan defended her administration, saying the measures were taken to preserve constitutional order and protect citizens.
“I assure you that we will remain vigilant to ensure your safety and prevent any recurrence of such experiences,” the president told diplomats on Thursday.
Tanzania has, since the October elections, established a commission of inquiry to look into the violence that left hundreds dead and property worth millions of shillings destroyed in a country that has enjoyed relative calm for decades.
Foreign observers said the election failed to meet democratic standards because key opposition figures were barred.
Tanzania president remorseful over Internet shutdown on election day
https://arab.news/9h7de
Tanzania president remorseful over Internet shutdown on election day
- President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday expressed “sympathy” to diplomats and foreign nationals living in the country
- Violence broke out on election day and went on for days as the Internet was shut down
Russian strike on Ukraine kills 4, including 3 young children: official
- Bogodukhiv is located in Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have recently stepped up attacks on transport and energy infrastructure
KYIV, Ukraine: A Russian strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bogodukhiv killed four people, including three young children, an official said on Wednesday.
Two one-year-old boys and a two-year-old girl died as a result of an enemy strike, according to regional military head Oleg Synegubov.
A 34-year-old man in the same house as the children also died from his wounds, Synegubov said on Telegram.
He added that a 74-year-old woman was wounded and was receiving medical assistance.
In an earlier statement, he also said a 35-year-old pregnant woman had been wounded in the strike.
Bogodukhiv is located in Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have recently stepped up attacks on transport and energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian and Russian officials have held US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending Moscow’s four-year invasion.
The two sides conducted a prisoner swap last week, though an agreement to draw a line under the conflict still seems a way off.
According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), around 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since Russia invaded in February 2022.
HRMMU said that 2025 was the deadliest year with more than 2,500 civilians killed.
