MAPUTO (Reuters) – Mozambican police fired on supporters of opposition leader Venancio Mondlane in the capital Maputo on Wednesday, injuring one of his entourage during a protest march, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.
Mondlane’s supporters had gathered hours before President Daniel Chapo was set to sign an agreement with some political parties aimed at ending months of protests over Chapo’s disputed election victory last year.
Mondlane came second in the presidential vote but has been excluded from the talks leading up to the agreement, which is meant to include a review of the country’s electoral laws.
Analysts say Mondlane’s exclusion means the agreement will likely do little to stabilise the resource-rich Southern African country.
Contacted by Reuters, a police spokesperson confirmed that law enforcement had dispersed marches in the capital but declined to elaborate. Mondlane did not answer a phone call from Reuters.
In a video broadcast live from Mondlane’s Facebook page, the opposition leader was seen standing in a car moving down a street surrounded by a crowd of people cheering and singing. The sound of gunshots rang out, after which people started running and the video abruptly cut off.
Zenaida Machado, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Human Rights Watch had confirmed at least 10 people had been injured by police on Wednesday. Machado said firing on a peaceful opposition gathering jeopardized efforts to bring stability to Mozambique.
Local civil society monitoring group Plataforma Decide says that more than 350 people have been killed in the post-election demonstrations that started in late October.
Mondlane told his supporters that he would continue with his anti-government protests and that the agreement being signed by Chapo and other parties on Wednesday was “without the people”.
Mondlane says Chapo and his Frelimo party won the October election through vote-rigging, while Western observers say it was not free and fair.
Frelimo, which has ruled Mozambique since the end of Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, denies accusations of electoral fraud.
(Reporting by Custodio Cossa and Manuel Mucari in Maputo; Additional reporting by Nellie Peyton in Johannesburg; Writing by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Philippa Fletcher)
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