Swazi police fired rubber bullets on Tuesday to break up protests against the tiny state's absolute monarchy, which has been widely criticised for massive human rights abuses and mismanaging a weak economy.
Activists said police arrested scores of people who were planning a popular uprising against King Mswati III similar to the ones that toppled the leaders of the North African states of Tunisia and Egypt.
Police wielding truncheons also fired tear gas and deployed water cannon in the main commercial city of Manzini to head off any mass protest, witnesses said.
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Swaziland, with a population of about 1.4 million sandwiched between regional economic power South Africa and war-scarred Mozambique, is one of Africa's poorest states, with an unemployment rate of about 40 percent. About seven in 10 people live below the national poverty level.
In contrast, King Mswati III has 14 wives and a personal fortune of $200 million, according to Forbes magazine. The king's wealth is equal to about 8 percent of the state's GDP. Full story...
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