[WATCH] Zimbabwe: thousands of protestors call for Mugabe to resign

Bulawayo right now...Wish I was home...#Zimbabwe is for all of us..#NewZimbabwe #MugabeMustFall #Mugabe pic.twitter.com/GF0JeoFrry

— Mommy The Mother (@ameliabhebhe) November 18, 2017

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare on Saturday Morning, demanding the resignation of President Robert Mugabe.

Crowds filled the streets in the centre of the city as many carried the national flags. Posters had messages like: “Leave Zimbabwe now!!!” People cheered soldiers in the crowd.

#Zimbabwe VIDEO ....anti Mugabe rally ... people thanking soldiers for liberating them from the Mugabe family pic.twitter.com/rtp8MjTxMu

— harumutasa/aljazeera (@harumutasa) November 18, 2017

A man at the rally said: "As Zimbabweans, we are saying to our army: Thank you very much for the peaceful intervention.

"And it's time for the masses of Zimbabwe to say: Mugabe must go and must go, like, yesterday. We can't wait to see his back. For us, it's about a new beginning," he said. "For us, it's about the end of authoritarian rule and we are going to take our Zimbabwe back."

The rally is supported by the military, which staged a takeover on Wednesday. The military made its move after Mugabe sacked his Vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa last week, paving the way for his wife, Grace, to become his successor. 

Mugabe refused to resign. Mugabe had been under house arrest since Wednesday, but made his first public appearance on Friday, when he attended a graduation ceremony.

Regional branches of the ruling Zanu-PF party as well as war veterans, who until last year were loyal to Mugabe, are saying he should quit. By Friday afternoon, all 10 of the country’s provincial Zanu-PF branches passed motions of no confidence in the president.

Mugabe has led Zimbabwe since it first gained independence from Britain in 1980.

At a press conference on Friday, Chris Mutsvangwa, a leader of Zimbabwe’s war veterans, said the president would not be allowed to remain in power. He called for a huge turnout at the rally.

“Between now and tomorrow we are giving a very stark warning to Mugabe, his wife and anyone who wants to be associated with him that the game is up – finished,” Mutsvangwa said.