Western diplomats demand release of bodies after Tanzania election killings

President Samia Suluhu Hassan. [Courtesy]

Seventeen Western diplomatic missions in Tanzania have urged authorities to release bodies of victims killed in post-election violence and free political prisoners as reports suggest hundreds of protesters and other people were killed following the disputed October 29 elections.

The British High Commission, Canadian High Commission, European Union Delegation and 14 European embassies issued a joint statement calling for an independent inquiry into credible reports from domestic and international organizations showing evidence of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests and concealment of dead bodies.