Police in Mozambique fired tear gas and deployed dogs to disperse protesters in the capital Maputo Thursday, after the opposition called a demonstration against the contested election results.
The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since the October 9 vote won by the Frelimo party, which has been in power for almost 50 years.
Leading opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who says the results were false and that he won, called for a mass protest on Thursday, telling AFP in an interview that it was a "crucial moment" for the country.
"I feel that there is a revolutionary atmosphere... that shows that we are on the verge of a unique historical and political transition in the country," said Mondlane, speaking from an undisclosed location.
The 50-year-old former radio presenter told AFP he could not reveal his whereabouts other than to say he was not in Africa.
Several thousand people took to the streets on Thursday to protest the election result, some throwing rocks and setting up barricades using burning tyres and bins.
"This is not so much about Venancio (as Mondlane is popularly known), it's more about change," said Richard, a protester who asked to be identified only by his first name.
The uprising was to reflect "the voice of the people", he added.
"Either they change and think about the people or the country doesn't move forward."
Heavily armed riot police and soldiers flanked by tanks dispersed the crowds with tear gas according to AFP reporters at the scene.
"It's scary... we're all here shaking from time to time, we run away, but it's going to be worth it," said Vadi, a woman who also only gave her first name. "We want change, that's all."
Shops, banks, schools and universities were closed in the coastal city of around one million people.
"Our first objective... is certainly the restoration of electoral truth," Mondlane told AFP via Zoom late on Wednesday.
"We want the popular will expressed at the polls on October 9 to be restored."
He was "waging a struggle" with "national" and "historical purpose", he added.
"People have realised that it wasn't possible to bring profound change in Mozambique without taking risks," he said.
"Now they have to free themselves".
Mondlane has used social media to rally supporters onto the streets on several occasions for demonstrations that have led to clashes with police.
At least 18 people have been killed in the post-electoral violence, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). One local NGO, the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD), has put the toll at 24.
A police officer was also killed in a protest at the weekend, Defence Minister Cristovao Chume told reporters Tuesday, warning the army could intervene "to protect the interests of the state".
"There is an intention to change the democratically established power," he added.
President Filipe Nyusi is expected to step down early next year at the end of his two-term limit, handing over to Frelimo's Daniel Chapo, who won the presidential election with 71 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission.
Mondlane, who has lodged a case at the Constitutional Council to request a ballot recount, told AFP that he was "open to a government of national unity".
The authorities have restricted access to internet across the country, in what HRW said was an apparent effort to "suppress peaceful protests and public criticism of the government".
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has warned against "unnecessary or disproportionate force". Police should "ensure that they manage protests in line with Mozambique's international human rights obligations", he said.
Mondlane left the country last month following the unrest.
He initially said he would be at Thursday's march but on Wednesday told AFP he wouldn't return after all due to safety concerns.
"I wanted so much to be in Maputo with my people. But unfortunately I received more than 5,000 messages... Ninety-nine percent of those messages discouraged me from going to Maputo," he said.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to be there."
