South Africa has said it rejected a request from Zimbabwe for an emergency loan of $1.2bn (£932m) in December, reports the BBC.

Zimbabwe’s government had hoped the cash would help stabilise the economy and resolve fuel shortages in the country.

South Africa did not have “that kind of money”, a Treasury spokesman said.

A fuel price hike imposed shortly after the request was rejected has led to violent clashes. Rights groups say at least 12 people have been killed.

They say many more have been beaten in clashes with security forces but there has been no official confirmation of this.

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Zimbabwe’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa announced a steep increase last week, sparking angry protests in the capital, Harare, and the south-western city of Bulawayo.

On Twitter, he said he was cutting short his current foreign tour to return home “in light of the economic situation”.