At least 21 people, including two police officers, have been killed in Mozambique in the past 24 hours during unrest sparked after the confirmation of the ruling Frelimo party’s election victory.
The Portuguese-speaking African country’s highest court had confirmed on Monday that the Frelimo party, in power since 1975, won the October 9 presidential election that had already triggered weeks of unrest.
A total of “236 acts of serious violence were reported” across the country, leaving at least 25 people wounded including 13 police officers, Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda told a press conference late Tuesday.
“Groups of armed men using bladed weapons and firearms have carried out attacks against police stations, penitentiary establishments, and other infrastructure,” Ronda said.
More than 70 people have been arrested, he added.
Police in armoured vehicles patrolled the centre of the city, where hundreds of protesters in small, scattered groups threw objects and started fires.
Chapo’s main challenger, exiled opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, has claimed the election was rigged, sparking fears of violence between rival party supporters.
Shops, banks, supermarkets, petrol stations and public buildings meanwhile were ransacked, with their windows smashed and contents looted. Some were set on fire and reduced to smouldering rubble.
“Maputo Central Hospital is operating in critical conditions, more than 200 employees have not been able to reach the site,” its director Mouzinho Saide said, adding that nearly 90 people had been admitted with injuries.
Forty were injured by firearms and four by knives, he added.
The main roads leading to Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola were blocked by barricades and burning tyres, while the road leading to Maputo airport was largely impassable.
Most residents stayed at home, with the few who ventured out doing so to look at the damage or do last-minute Christmas shopping.
Christmas Eve is normally a busy time, with large crowds in central Maputo but shops and even small neighbourhood grocery stores were closed, making petrol and bread unavailable.
Public transport was also paralysed, with only ambulances and funeral vehicles running.
