[Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]
Riot police in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, fired tear gas
to disperse a crowd protesting against alleged electoral fraud days after two
opposition allies were shot dead.
Several hundred people, including journalists, scattered as
heavily armed police marched down a main street on Monday. The Reuters news
agency reported some police officers firing handguns while dispersing the
crowd.
Adriano Nuvunga, director of Mozambique’s Centre for
Democracy and Human Rights, said bullets hit two journalists and a security
guard but not seriously wounded.
Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who ran for president
in the October 9 election, had called for a general strike to contest early
results showing the ruling Frelimo party ahead.
Shops in Maputo were closed, and helicopters were hovering
above the city of around one million people.
“Venancio”, as he is popularly known, was among those
dispersed and he later posted a video on Facebook showing him running away from
tear gas, surrounded by supporters. He told reporters that police had tried to
stop him from attending the demonstration.
“This morning I couldn’t get out of my house. I had people
at my doorstep, including the police. It took me an hour to get out,” said the
50-year-old.
Tensions rose over the weekend after two Mondlane
associates were shot dead in Maputo.
Lawyer Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, a candidate from the
small Podemos party which backs Mondlane, were in a car when they were
surrounded by other vehicles and shot dead on Saturday, witnesses said.
Podemos leader Albino Forquilha confirmed the killings to
AFP news agency, while police stated that an investigation had been launched
but did not confirm the identities of the two men.
The European Union, African Union, and United Nations have
condemned the incident and called on authorities to identify the perpetrators.
In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
called on “all Mozambicans, including political leaders and their supporters,
to remain calm, exercise restraint and reject all forms of violence.” Aljazeera
0 comments:
Post a Comment