Mozambique is experiencing the country’s worst crackdown on protests in years.
Mozambican authorities have launched a massive crackdown following disputed elections on October 9, 2024. Security forces have routinely tried to violently and unlawfully break up peaceful assemblies with tear gas, bullets and arbitrary arrests. The government has repeatedly cut internet access nationwide and blocked social media sites.
Police have killed dozens of people so far, injured over one hundred and arbitrarily arrested or detained thousands, according to Mozambican civil society organizations. Last week, authorities deployed the military to stop the protests.
Mozambique’s authorities must immediately halt their escalating assault on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Attempts to crush peaceful dissent with force risk exacerbating an already dire human rights situation.
The last two weeks in Mozambique have been marked by completely unnecessary bloodshed as authorities have tried to stop a peaceful protest movement with deadly force. The number of casualties increases every day, with authorities deploying weapons of war, including rifles and armoured vehicles, on city streets. People cannot even protest in their own homes without risking tear gassing by police.
Khanyo Farise, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa
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November 14: Mozambique: SADC must take a strong stand against spiralling police killings and assault on peaceful assembly
November 6: Mozambique: End violent post-election crackdown ahead of 7 November Maputo march
October 31: Mozambique: Authorities must end post-election assault on protests now
October 18: Mozambique: Stop shooting at peaceful political rallies amid disputed election results
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Top banner image: Protesters look on as Mozambique riot police officers block the road in Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, on November 7, 2024. Tensions were rising as police fired tear gas to disperse protesters gathered after the main opposition leader called to demonstrate election results. The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since an October 9 vote won by the Frelimo party, which has been in power for almost 50 years. (Photo by Alfredo Zuniga/AFP via Getty Images)
