This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A brutal crackdown on protesters and opposition activists in Zimbabwe has continued despite President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s pledge earlier this week to stop excesses by the security forces.

Soldiers in the southern city of Bulawayo launched a new wave of raids on Tuesday night, while more sporadic security operations continued in the capital, Harare.

The crackdown by the police and army followed a breakdown in law and order last week after unions called a “shutdown” to protest against a rise in fuel prices, which was marred by looting and rioting. Twelve people were shot dead by police while many more were assaulted amid the worst violence seen in Zimbabwe for a decade.

The unrest comes 14 months after Robert Mugabe, who took power in 1980, was forced to resign following a military takeover.

“There is less widespread general retribution but still a lot of targeted arrests, abductions and beatings. This is clearly ongoing,” said Doug Coltart, a human rights lawyer and activist in Harare.

Activity in the centre of the capital was returning to normal on Wednesday. The internet, shut down across the country by authorities for much of the last week, was functioning.

Zimbabwe faces further turbulence after unions called for a new strike by civil servants later this week.

David Dzatsunga, the secretary of the Civil Service Apex Council, said industrial action by 500,000 civil servants would begin on Friday.

Play Video 1:16 What is happening in Zimbabwe? – video report

Mnangagwa cut short a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to deal with the crisis. The 76-year-old leader has sought to calm a tense situation by calling for dialogue.

His pledge to engage the opposition has met with scepticism. Many activists remain in hiding. Some have sought sanctuary overseas.

“The president has come back and this rhetoric about condemning the police and so on doesn’t change anything,” said one student leader who fled to neighbouring Zambia earlier this week. “We know we are not safe. Three of my colleagues told me about how they were attacked.”

In Bulawayo, more than 50 houses in the restive western suburbs were raided by soldiers on Tuesday night. Dozens of people were beaten, some badly.

“I spoke to 11 men who described how they were attacked and kicked and hit. Some told me they were urinating blood. The army has told everyone to be in their homes and have their lights out by six o’clock. It is still very tense. We are living in fear,” one activist told the Guardian.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Protesters stand behind a burning barricade during protests on a road to Harare. Photograph: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters

Soldiers threatened, beat or detained drivers of private minibuses who had increased their fares following the rise in fuel prices in Bulawayo and Harare, witnesses said.

More than 700 people have been detained. Many have been charged with public disorder offences or inciting violence.

In Harare magistrates court, batches of 60 accused prisoners were represented by as few as five lawyers who had less than two days to prepare their defence.

“They want to send a signal,” said Guguletu Gertrude Mahlangu, a defence lawyer.

Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party, has called for the “unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience and political detainees.”

Zimbabwe’s deep economic problems fuelled last week’s protests. A litre of petrol now costs more than $3, and the cost of basic commodities such as oil and flour have doubled or trebled in Zimbabwe in recent weeks, causing economic hardship for many.

The government has provided buses with cheaper fares, and accompanied by armed soldiers, to ferry people to work. There were long lines for cooking gas and other basic items, and people jostled each other for bread in the shops still with stock.