At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured as police cracked down on post-election unrest in Mozambique, two medical groups reported
This incident comes as the country braced Thursday for more protests against a vote criticized as fraudulent by opposition parties and questioned by international observers.
Daniel Chapo of the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique was announced as the winner of the election on Oct. 24, extending the Frelimo party’s 49 years in power since independence from Portugal in 1975. Chapo is to succeed President Filipe Nyusi, who is stepping down after serving the two terms allowed under the constitution.
Ten people died of gunshot wounds and another 63 were wounded by gunfire in protests between Oct. 18 and Oct. 26, the Medical Association of Mozambique and the Mozambique Order of Doctors said in a joint statement Wednesday.
“In most of the shootings, especially those that resulted in death, the intention of the police was to shoot to kill,” Gilberto Manhiça, the head of the Order of Doctors, was quoted as saying by local media.
However, in a separate statement, Human Rights Watch put the death toll at 11. It said more than 50 people sustained serious gunshot wounds in the protests and called for an investigation into the “apparently excessive use of force.”
Meanwhile, Frelimo has regularly been accused of rigging elections and Mozambique’s security forces have previously been criticized for suppressing protests with deadly force.
Opposition parties claimed fraud on the day of the election, while observers from the European Union said in a later report that there were irregularities in the vote counting and some results had been altered.
Follow Parallel Facts on WhatsApp Channel:https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCQSAoHgZWiDjR3Kn2E
