Two people were shot and killed in Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, on Tuesday when police fired on a crowd gathered for a protest called by the country’s main opposition leader, AFP journalists reported.
Photographs taken by AFP showed two bodies lying in pools of blood under blankets in the Matola district of Maputo.
The violence erupted as opposition leader Venancio Mondlane called for a nationwide shutdown in protest.
An AFP photographer at the scene reported that police arrived to disperse the demonstrators and opened fire, killing two people—one of whom was shot in the head.
Two local civil society groups also confirmed that police had used live ammunition.
Mondlane, who placed second in Mozambique’s October presidential election, has alleged massive fraud and claims he was cheated of victory. International observer missions noted numerous irregularities in the election process.
Since the election, Mondlane has led months of demonstrations, during which at least 350 protesters have been killed by police, according to local civil society group Plataforma Decide.
Earlier this month, police injured at least 14 people after opening fire with live rounds to disperse an opposition march.
Plataforma Decide confirmed one of Tuesday’s fatalities in a social media post, sharing an image of one of the bodies.
“According to a witness, the police chased the victim into the neighbourhood and shot them,” the post stated.
Mozambique’s Centre for Democracy and Development also reported that the police’s Rapid Intervention Unit had fired live rounds at one of its teams covering the protests in Maputo.
