More than 1,000 people were shot dead during three days of protests in Tanzania at the end of October, according to human rights organizations and the opposition.
The violence was necessary, claims President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
The violence used was proportionate to the situation we were facing. (...) Should we have just watched? The mob of protesters was prepared to try to overthrow the government until they succeeded, she says.
According to the electoral commission, Suluhu Hassan received 98 percent of the vote, but the result was heavily contested. In addition, her main challengers had been either imprisoned or banned from participating in the election.
The government has still not commented or confirmed the death toll.
