Zimbabwe Unrest: Fuel Riots Just the Beginning of New Cycle of Violence, Say Analysts

Two South African analysts said the unrest represented the beginning of a wave of upheaval in Zimbabwe.

A man drags a burning tire as angry protesters barricade the main route to Zimbabwe's capital Harare from Epworth township on Jan. 14, 2019. Jekesai Njikizana/AFP/Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Michael Sibindi’s hands are stained with soil and grass as he shuffles forward in a neat line of fellow Zimbabweans trying to send money to relatives back home via an agent.

“Honestly, I don’t know why I’m doing this anymore,” Sibindi, 52, who works in South Africa’s biggest city as a gardener, sighed. “When I was in Bulawayo [in Zimbabwe] in December I had money, but there was nothing to buy. No food, no petrol. We couldn’t get anywhere. Now I hear that things are much worse.”