Clashes in Mozambique as main opposition leader Mondlane returns from exile. election news
Venancio Mondlane was reported injured after police fired tear gas and live ammunition as he landed in Maputo following the disputed elections.
Police have fired live ammunition and tear gas to prevent supporters of Mozambique’s main opposition leader Venancio Mondlane from reaching the airport to welcome him after his return from self-exile.
Live images from the capital Maputo broadcast by Al Jazeera on Thursday showed police chasing protesters, some of whom responded by throwing stones, as they attempted to breach the main highway leading to the city’s Mavlane International Airport Was.
Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller, reporting from the site of the clashes in Maputo, said some of Mondlane’s supporters were injured in the clashes.
“The police are pushing back on the protesters, firing tear gas. We also heard live ammunition being used,” she said.
“The protesters are trying to reach the airport to welcome Mondlane, but they are not able to reach. Therefore their anger is increasing. There have been heated exchanges between the police and the protesters.
The number of injuries could not be immediately determined.
Mondlane, who was met by a large group of journalists after leaving the airport building, claims the October 9 election was rigged in favor of Daniel Chapo, the candidate of the ruling Frelimo party, who is scheduled to be sworn in on January 15. Are.
Mondlane had been in hiding for more than two months in fear for his life after two senior members of his party were murdered in their car by unidentified gunmen after the election, killing dozens of others.
“I’m here to say that if you want to negotiate… I’m here,” Mondlane told reporters outside the airport.
The election dispute sparked waves of violence that left nearly 300 people dead, including protesters killed in police action, according to data from a local rights group.
Officials say police officers have also been killed and there has been looting and vandalism. A decision by Mozambique’s top court, the Constitutional Council, to validate the election results sparked more demonstrations.
There were fears that Mondlane could be arrested upon his return, including on charges related to weeks of protests by his supporters, many of them young Mozambicans desperate for change after 50 years under the ruling Frelimo.
Frelimo, which has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, denies opposition allegations of electoral fraud. Western observers have said that this year’s elections were not free and fair.
Al Jazeera’s Miller said the government was blaming Mondlane for “inciting” unrest across the country in recent weeks.
“He also said that they should compensate for the losses suffered in Mozambique during that period. Now the question is, how will the government react now?”
Mondlane’s supporters say his return from two months in exile gives people hope. “We young people are here fighting for our tomorrow,” said Fatima Pinto, 20, who trained as a general medical technician.
