Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence and gunshot injuries.

A crowd runs in panic along a dusty street. Shots ring out. A woman wearing a purple jacket carrying a stick falls to the ground. Another woman can be heard pleading, Mama, mama, stand, as she tries to lift her. Blood is spreading around her stomach as another stain appears on her back.

This verified footage, filmed in Tanzania's city of Arusha, is just one of many graphic scenes to have emerged showing the violent actions of police as they attempted to crush widespread protests last month during the country's presidential and parliamentary elections.

The protests started in the city of Dar es Salaam on 29 October and spread across the country over the following days. The demonstrations had largely been organised by young people left angry at what they see as a political system dominated by one party since Tanzania gained independence in the 1960s.

Several opposition leaders were arrested and others banned from standing during the elections while a number of opposition activists were detained. Incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan ultimately secured victory after the electoral commission declared she received 98% of the vote.

Since then the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said it had reports indicating that hundreds of people were killed during the protests, with many more injured or detained. A diplomatic source in Tanzania told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.

Footage of the protests was suppressed for almost a week when the government imposed a near-total internet blackout and threatened to jail anyone caught sharing any videos from the protests, saying it could cause unrest.

Only once the block was lifted on 4 November did dozens of videos begin to emerge online showing violent scenes: uniformed officers appearing to fire at crowds, bodies lying on the streets, with others piled up outside a hospital.

To understand what happened, BBC Verify has analysed, geolocated and confirmed footage, building a clearer picture of how police responded to the demonstrations.

Violence in Tanzania's largest city

The footage our team has verified shows that the protests were dominated by groups of young men, drawing strong parallels with a global Gen-Z youth movement frustrated at economic decline and entrenched leadership in countries across Africa.

The first demonstrations we identified took place early on election day in Dar es Salaam, the country's largest city and economic hub. They spread to other urban areas across the country, including the cities of Mwanza and Arusha.

The internet blackout makes it difficult to establish a clear sequence of events, but what is clear from videos and images posted online is that protesters were confronted by heavily armed police units blocking their progress and firing tear gas to disperse crowds. In many of the videos, gunfire can clearly be heard as people scatter in the ensuing chaos.

Footage shows police firing on crowds

In Arusha, footage shows a police vehicle passing a crowd of chanting youths. Gunshots ring out and people are seen scattering and running for safety. Another video taken shows an injured man with those around him saying he's been shot.

In the northern Kijitonyama area of Dar es Salaam, two men in uniform were filmed taking aim and firing along a main road in the direction of protests. The green uniforms and flat-topped peak caps worn by the two men closely match those worn by the Tanzanian police.

There are also multiple videos seen by BBC Verify of men in the same green uniforms firing weapons - sometimes into the air, sometimes along open streets.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has called for an investigation into the killings and other violations committed during Tanzania's elections, and for the unconditional release of all those arrested before the vote took place and others who have since been detained.