At Least 18 Killed in Protests

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

Rex Chikoko

22 July 2011

Lilongwe — At least 18 people are thought to have died in two days of anti-government protests in Malawi. Malawian cities were calm yesterday, but fresh violence was expected in the northern part of the country ahead of a joint burial ceremony of nine of those killed in the chaos.

Health ministry spokesperson Henry Chimbali confirmed the deaths, but said their causes had not been established.

Mr Chimbali said nine people were killed in the northern town of Mzuzu, six in Lilongwe, two in Blantyre and one in the northern district of Karonga. Police said they regretted the deaths, but added that most of those killed were looters.Meanwhile, Amnesty International called on Malawi to immediately launch an independent investigation into the deaths of people shot dead by security forces during the demonstrations.

Amnesty also appealed for an investigation into the shooting of at least 44 other people, including six children, who were treated for gunshot wounds.”The Malawian authorities must immediately launch an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into their use of firearms resulting in these killings”, said Mr Erwin var der Borght, Amnesty International’s Director for Africa.

“When the police use firearms, they must minimise injury, and respect human life. If there’s reasonable suspicion that they have shot people arbitrarily, the suspects must be brought to justice in a fair trial”, he added.

The US embassy in Malawi condemned the bloody crackdown on protesters and the use of force by Malawian authorities to prevent peaceful demonstrations, as well as the order banning private radio stations from reporting the demonstrations.

AllAfrica – All the Time