A military armored vehicle driving at a rapid pace on Eduardo Mondlane Avenue in downtown Maputo ran over a young lady behind a makeshift barricade in the middle of the street bearing a poster of presidential opposition candidate Venâncio Mondlane at approximately 9:30 AM on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. The woman was carried and placed into a vehicle by fellow protesters. In a press release later in the day, the Mozambique Armed Defense Forces said the vehicle was “on a mission to protect economic assets” from demonstrators and that the government would take care of her medical and psychosocial needs in the hospital. Her family told Lusa News Agency that she was in serious condition at Maputo Central Hospital, the nation’s largest hospital. Mondlane has called on Mozambicans who disagree with the results of the controversial presidential election on October 9, which claimed that ruling party Frelimo candidate Daniel Chap won 71% of the vote while Mondlane of the Podemos party won 20%, to peacefully protest by blocking the nation’s streets. Independent observers reported inconsistencies in the polls. Frelimo, which has been in power since Mozambique’s independence from Portugal in 1975, has been accused of vote rigging over the years. The police have responded to demonstrations by dispersing crowds with tear gas and live rounds. Mozambican NGO Eleitoral Decide said that at least 67 people have died and 210 have been shot since the protests began on October 21. Also on Wednesday, two protesters were shot and killed in the northern city of Nampula while hundreds of protesters had blocked a train transporting coal to the city’s port, as reported by AFP.
Sources:
Mozambique: Chaos in Maputo after female protestor run over by armoured vehicle
Lusa
Mozambique: Military admit running over young woman in election protests in Maputo
Lusa
New clashes In Mozambique as two reported killed – Report
AFP
