Police kill at least 10 people in post-election protests in Mozambique, medical groups say

MAPUTU, Mozambique — At least 10 people were fatally shot by the police, dozens of others were injured the authorities suppressed the riots two medical groups said after Mozambique’s presidential election, as the country braced for fresh protests against the vote, which opposition parties and parties criticized as rigged. questioned international observers.

Daniel Chapo of the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique was there declared the winner of the election on October 24, extending Frelimo’s 49-year rule since independence from Portugal in 1975. Chapo is set to succeed President Filipe Nyusi, who is stepping down after the two terms allowed by the constitution.

Frelimo has regularly been accused of rigging elections, and Mozambique’s security forces have previously been criticized for using lethal force to suppress protests. Opposition parties claimed fraud on election day, and observers from the European Union said in a later report that there had been irregularities in the counting of votes and some results had been altered.

The tension was high South African country in the run-up to and immediately after the October 9 vote, but further unrest was sparked when two senior opposition party officials were killed in their car in the capital Maputo on October 18 after being ambushed by unknown gunmen late at night. The opposition says that the attackers fired 25 bullets at the car.

In Mozambique, many saw the killings as politically motivated. One of the victims was a lawyer and adviser to Venancio Mondlane, the main opposition presidential candidate who came second in the election.

Ten people died from gunshot wounds and another 63 received gunshot wounds during protests between October 18 and 26, the Medical Association of Mozambique and the Order of Doctors of Mozambique said in a joint statement on Wednesday. “In most shootings, especially those that lead to death, the police intended to shoot to kill,” Gilberto Manchis, head of the Order of Doctors, was quoted as saying by local media.

In a separate statement, Human Rights Watch put the death toll at 11. It said more than 50 people suffered serious gunshot wounds during the protests and called for an investigation into the “apparently excessive use of force.”

Protesters burned tires and blocked roads in some cities, while authorities described some of the unrest as violent and needed to be quelled. Police spokesman Orlando Mudumane told state-run Radio Mozambique that the situation was “relatively calm and under control”.

Opposition leader Mondline called for a new week of protests to begin on Thursday.

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