The Tanzanian police said on Tuesday they had arrested more than 500 people, including top opposition leaders, as they planned to attend a youth rally, a stunning development in the East African nation where a pathbreaking female president had once promised to restore political freedoms. Some 520 people were arrested across the country ahead of a Monday rally in the southwestern city of Mbeya, Awadh J. Haji, the police commissioner for operations and training, said in a statement. The police, he said, also seized 25 vehicles that had been transporting people going to the rally and officials from different regions in the country. The rally was organized by the opposition Chadema party, which said it wanted to mark International Youth Day. “Their goal is not to celebrate International Youth Day, but to initiate and commit violence to cause disruption of peace in the country,” Mr. Haji said.

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Persons: Awadh J, Haji, “, Mr Locations: East, Mbeya, Awadh, Kenya