Tanzania president says election killings were not excessive

Dar es Salaam: Tanzania s President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Tuesday justified the killing of protesters during recent election unrest, saying it was ne...

Dar es Salaam: Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Tuesday justified the killing of protesters during recent election unrest, saying it was necessary to prevent the overthrow of the government.

Opposition and rights groups say more than 1,000 people were shot dead during three days of protests over the election of October 29, which they say was rigged.

"The force that was used corresponds to the situation at hand. When we are told that we used excessive force in that incident... Were we supposed to simply watch that mob of demonstrators who were prepared to overthrow the government until they succeeded?" Hassan said in a speech in Tanzania's economic capital Dar es Salaam.

She retained the presidency with 98 percent of the vote, but the main opposition candidates were either jailed or disqualified.

Her government has yet to say how many were killed during the unrest amid reports that many bodies were never returned to families.