Mozambique rocked by killings of opposition figures

MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE — 

Gunmen successful 2 vehicles chased down the lawyer for Mozambique's starring absorption person and a elder absorption authoritative and fatally changeable them successful their SUV precocious astatine nighttime connected a main avenue successful the capital, their enactment said Saturday, successful a brutal burst of unit that rocked a state wherever tensions were already precocious amid a disputed election.

The killings came arsenic the absorption enactment the 2 men were associated with prepared to situation the results of this month's statesmanlike predetermination that drew much allegations of ballot rigging and clamping down connected dissent against the governing party, which has been successful powerfulness for astir 50 years.

Elvino Dias, a lawyer and advisor to absorption statesmanlike campaigner Venancio Mondlane, was killed precocious Friday nighttime by gunmen who riddled his car with bullets successful the larboard superior of Maputo, the PODEMOS absorption enactment said.

Paulo Guambe, a elder subordinate and the spokesperson for PODEMOS, was besides successful the car and died successful the shooting, the enactment said successful a statement.

The killings are “further wide grounds of the deficiency of justness that we are each subjected to,” PODEMOS said.

PODEMOS is simply a comparatively caller absorption party. It challenged the 49-year regularisation of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, oregon Frelimo, enactment successful the October 9 election.

Although Mondlane ran for president arsenic an independent, helium was supported by PODEMOS. Mondlane, PODEMOS and different absorption parties person accused Frelimo of electoral fraud and rigging the election.

Frelimo campaigner Daniel Chapo holds a wide pb successful the statesmanlike race, according to preliminary results. Mondlane was 2nd down Chapo.

The last predetermination results are owed to beryllium announced adjacent week, and Chapo is expected to beryllium announced arsenic the victor to win President Filipe Nyusi, who has served a maximum of 2 terms, taking the leftist Frelimo's grip connected powerfulness past a half-century.

Dias was seen arsenic a cardinal fig successful the ineligible preparations to situation the results of the predetermination successful the Constitutional Council, Mozambique’s ultimate electoral court. Mondlane and PODEMOS had besides called for a nationwide onslaught to protestation the predetermination results.

Adriano Nuvunga, the manager of Mozambican quality rights nongovernmental enactment the Center for Democracy and Development, wrote connected societal media that the sidesplitting of Dias was a “political assassination” amid rising tensions.

Authorities did not instantly remark connected the killings, which are wide viewed successful Mozambique arsenic politically motivated.

Frelimo, which has been successful powerfulness successful the confederate African state since independency from Portugal successful 1975, has often been accused of rigging elections, which it has consistently denied.

Rights groups accused Mozambican authorities of clamping down connected dissent successful the run-up to the predetermination and person besides accused information forces of utilizing deadly unit to interruption up peaceful protests. Police broke up a post-election march by Mondlane supporters successful the cardinal metropolis of Nampula earlier this week. There has been a ample constabulary beingness connected the streets of Maputo for days.

While Frelimo has regularly faced accusations of manipulating elections, harassing the absorption and the arbitrary arrests of journalists, the assassination of high-profile governmental leaders would beryllium caller "and a large escalation of violence,” Marcelo Mosse, exertion of the autarkic online paper Carta de Mocambique, wrote successful a Saturday greeting column.

The shooting happened conscionable earlier midnight connected Joaquim Chissano Avenue adjacent the Russian Embassy, according to a section resident, who said helium heard the gunshots. The resident, who asked not to beryllium identified, said helium was adjacent capable to odor the gunpowder successful the aerial aft the shooting. He said helium heard a dependable series of astir 5 shots followed a fewer seconds aboriginal by different circular of 5 shots.

Videos published connected societal media — and shared wide successful Mozambique — showed a acheronian grey BMW SUV successful the mediate of the roadworthy with galore slug holes successful the bodywork. People were gathered astir the car soon aft the shooting, and immoderate of the video showed what appeared to beryllium the bodies of 2 men, 1 with humor connected his chest, successful the beforehand seats. The different assemblage was slumped over.