Police use tear gas on Zimbabwe protesters

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe said Friday that street protests over electoral reform, which were put down by police using tear gas and water cannon, will not result in a Zimbabwean "Arab Spring," referring to the popular uprising that swept the MIddle East in  2011.

Opposition protesters wearing red T-shirts of the Movement for Democratic Change were also beaten by police in their bid for electoral changes before the 2018 elections.

The marchers, who set fire to street barricades during the clashes, were dispersed by heavy police action, according to the Associated Press. 

 Mugabe, 92, has said he intends to run again for the post that he has held for 36 years. He has ruled the country since independence from white minority rule 36 years ago and has refused to name a successor, insisting he wants to rule until he dies.

The official Zimbabwe Broadcast Corporation quoted Mugabe as accusing the opposition of going down a "path of violence" and "fighting for foreign forces." The ZBC said the president was en route to Kenya for a conference on African Development.

Although police warned leaders of 18 opposition parties that a protest march would not be tolerated, the High Court ruled early Friday that the demonstration could go ahead.

The protest marks the first time since 2007 that the divided opposition has united in a single action to confront Mugabe’s government.

Dubbed the "mega demonstration," the protest was to include veteran opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Mugabe's former deputy, Joice Mujuru, according to organizers.