Regional News

Mozambicans flee to neighbouring Malawi amid post-election unrest

Fleeing Mozambicans cross to Malawi

Blantyre, December 27  — More than 2,000 Mozambican families have sought refuge in Malawi this week, Malawian authorities said, as dozens of people were reported killed in spreading unrest over a disputed election in October.

Some businesses including banks were closed in Mozambique’s capital Maputo on Friday and patrols were set up in some areas following a deadly prison riot and breakout on Wednesday.

Mozambique has been gripped by violent protests for about two months since the electoral commission said the ruling Frelimo party had retained power and its candidate won the presidency in the election. Frelimo denies opposition accusations of electoral fraud.

A protester reacts near a burning barricade during a “national shutdown” against the election outcome, at Luis Cabral township in Maputo, Mozambique, November 7, 2024. 

A decision by Mozambique’s Constitutional Council to validate the election results on Monday triggered more demonstrations.

Monitoring group Plataforma Decide put the death toll at 125 since the court’s decision and at 252 since late October.

A senior Malawian official said that as of Wednesday, 2,182 Mozambican households fleeing the violence had crossed into Malawi’s Nsanje district, which borders Mozambique.

“The situation remains dire as these individuals urgently require humanitarian assistance,” Nsanje district commissioner Dominic Mwandira said in a letter to the country’s commissioner for refugees.

Mozambique’s main opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who the Constitutional Council said had come second in the presidential election and who rejects the results, has called for more protests from his supporters but urged them not to loot and damage infrastructure.

The unrest has affected foreign firms operating in Mozambique, including mining companies and petrochemical company Sasol.

Operations at Gemfields’ biggest ruby mine in Mozambique were temporarily halted on Tuesday after violent incidents near the mine, it said in a statement on Friday.

More than 200 people had attempted to gain access to a residential site for mine employees and set fire to structures, it said. Mozambican security forces shot and killed two people, Gemfields said.

The prison riot in Maputo on Christmas Day left at least 33 people dead and saw more than 1,500 prisoners escape before some were recaptured.

Frelimo has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975. Western observers have said this year’s election was not free and fair.

Related posts

Kenyan Lawyer Martha Karua Granted Practicing Certificate to Represent Besigye in High-Profile Case

Dean Lubowa Saava

PREMIER LEAGUE : It Was A Draw For Liverpool Vs Manchester City.

Dean Lubowa Saava

US Imposes Sanctions on Sudan’s RSF Leader for Waging Brutal War

Dean Lubowa Saava

Museveni meets Kikwete On a Strategic Security Plans In The EAC

Dean Lubowa Saava

Kenyan Protestors Occupy Parliament

Dean Lubowa Saava

78 drown after boat capsizes in Congo’s Lake Kivu

ndiwalanakiwa@gmail.com

BOBI WINE’S HOSPITAL DRAMA: A TALE OF DECEIT AND POLITICS.

Cathy Mirembe

UK Heads For Polls: Citizens Head To Decide The Future Direction Of The Nation.

Cathy Mirembe

SFC Detectives Kicked Off Investigation On URA Tax Collectors Over Sexual Harassment To Female Trader.

Dean Lubowa Saava

President Museveni Calls for Help .

admin

Leave a Comment