Swaziland's paramilitary police force engaged in sporadic running battles with protesters, fired teargas and rubber bullets, and detained activists in a bid to crush a proclaimed "uprising" against the government on Tuesday, activists and news services reported.
The police action followed a call for three days of protest by pro-democracy groups against the rule of King Mswati III, who rules as an absolute monarch with the support of a traditionally-inspired administration known as the "Tinkhundla".
The opposition People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo) said Tuesday that there had been "occasional running battles between the protesters and the police" in the commercial centre of Manzini, where the main protest was to have been held. Businesses had been forced to close, it said.
The Johannesburg-based Swaziland Solidarity Network claimed protesters were in control of some sections of Manzini. It said police in the town first beat protesters and then fired rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse them.
Agence France-Presse reported that police stormed the offices of the teachers' union, one of the most prominent groups agitating for democracy in Swaziland.
AFP quoted a teacher as saying, "They are are throwing teargas and beating teachers. People are running helter skelter. Police are beating us with batons." The agency said police had earlier also used water cannons to stop students and teachers from marching.
Pudemo also said its president, Mario Masuku, had been placed under house arrest.
