Mozambique post-election violence kills 125 in three days, NGO says
Around 125 people have been killed in three days of violent clashes across Mozambique amid opposition-led protests over the presidential election results, a non-governmental organisation said Thursday.
Despite international observers raising concerns about irregularities in the 9 October elections, the country's highest court on Monday confirmed that Daniel Chapo of the Frelimo party, which has been in power since 1975, won the presidential race with 65.17 percent of the vote.
That announcement triggered opposition protests that often turned into clashes with police, with buildings burned and supermarkets ransacked.
On Tuesday evening, the government reported a death toll of 21 in the first 24 hours of rioting in several major cities of the southern African nation.
Prison break
The national police chief then announced Wednesday that a mass jailbreak occurred near the capital Maputo, leaving at least 33 inmates dead during clashes with prison staff as they tried to escape.
The NGO Plataforma Decide on Thursday put the toll at 125 deaths since Monday, also raising the total deaths since violence erupted in October to 252.
The hardest-hit areas include around the capital, northern provinces including Nampula and the country's second-largest city Beira.
Mass jailbreak in Mozambique amid post-election unrest
Chapo's main challenger, exiled opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, has claimed the election was rigged.
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