Mozambique: Protesters dispersed near the Presidency on Monday, child killed in Magoanine CMC

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Mozambique: Protesters dispersed near the Presidency on Monday, child killed in Magoanine CMC

7:15 CAT | 05 Nov 2024

Screen grab:@AllexandreMZ/X

Yesterday, hundreds of protesters from various suburban neighbourhoods in Maputo marched towards the Presidency of the Republic in what may have been a test for the march scheduled for next Thursday, 7 November.

Proceeding down Avenida Julius Nyerere from Praça dos Combatentes, the group was prevented from continuing near the turnoff to the Escola Portuguesa, less than two kilometres from the Presidency of the Republic.

More than three dozen officers from the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR), two BTRs and at least five police patrol vehicles were mobilized to the scene to contain the protesters.

At first, there seemed to be an understanding between the police and the protesters about the course that the demonstration should take, but suddenly, in the usual police response to protest, the festival of rubber bullets and tear gas began.
Fire was aimed right at the people, who were less than five metres away from the police. There are reports of injuries.

The fifth day of popular demonstrations was also marked by the blocking of public roads across almost the entire city and province of Maputo. Protesters once again set up barricades on National Highway No. 4, next to the Maputo toll booth, and mineral transport drivers blocked the same road four kilometres from the Ressano Garcia border, the country’s largest land border crossing.

There was also police shooting in the Chamanculo C and Magoanine B neighbourhoods, resulting in two deaths.
Peaceful marches on Avenida Sebastião Marcos Mabote, Avenida Mao Tse Tung and Rua Beira were all stopped by violent police action.

At this stage of the demonstrations, it is striking that the Police Protection Police have barely intervened, being largely replaced by heavily armed officers from the Rapid Intervention Unit, wearing hoods and bulletproof vests. Dozens of BTR vehicles have been flooding the country’s capital since last week, in what looks like a war scenario.

Child killed in Magoanine, another hit by gunfire in Chamanculo

On Monday, the Police of the Republic of Mozambique fatally shot a child in the Magoanine B neighbourhood and hit another who was with his mother in the Chamanculo C neighbourhood with a bullet.
Witnesses say that the child killed in the Magoanine B neighbourhood (commonly known as CMC) was returning from school when he suddenly strayed into riots in the area and was hit by gunfire.

Witnesses report that a group of young people in Chamanculo C took to the streets early on Monday morning for a peaceful march. The nearest police station immediately tried to prevent the young people from continuing with the march and, even though they were not creating any kind of disturbance, began shooting, hitting passers-by.

“At 10:00 a.m., a child of just over six years old who was with his mother buying bread at a bakery in the Chamanculo C neighbourhood, on Avenida Marcelino dos Santos, was hit by a bullet when about 10 officers from the 9th PRM police station suddenly appeared and began shooting at protesters, who sustained serious and minor injuries. The police at the scene themselves took the injured to one of the hospitals in the city of Maputo in their vehicle,” a witness reported.

Witnesses also claim that the police intended to kill innocent citizens who were not carrying any type of firearm.

“A tropa ‘estranha’ dos blindados chegou a Julius Nyerere, afastou a polícia de protecção nacional e abriu fogo contra os manifestantes.” Via @Canal_Moz

Exactamente o que aconteceu em Magoanine CMC. A ‘tropa estranha’ até disparou contra a PRM, até que um agente pediu parar ✋ pic.twitter.com/8WH06cA6fn

— Alexandre Nhampossa (@AllexandreMZ) November 4, 2024

Maputo now 📍

Protests continue in #Mozambique
Police tear-gassing peaceful protesters is trending all over the country. Frelimo government is losing control. Shutting down social media for almost 1 week now and police using lethal force.#MozambiqueElections pic.twitter.com/AC3NtFd09k

— Cídia Chissungo (@Cidiachissungo) November 4, 2024