Clashes in Mozambique as main opposition leader Mondlane returns from exile | Elections News

Injuries reported as police fire tear gas and live ammunition as Venancio Mondlane lands in Maputo after disputed election.

Police have fired live ammunition and tear gas to prevent supporters of Mozambique’s main opposition leader Venancio Mondlane from reaching the airport to greet him following his return from self-imposed exile.

Live images from capital Maputo broadcast by Al Jazeera on Thursday showed police chasing down protesters, some of whom responded by throwing rocks, as they attempted to breach the main highway leading to the city’s Mavalane International Airport.

Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller, reporting from the site of the clashes in Maputo, said some of Mondlane’s supporters were injured in the clashes.

“Police have been pushing back at protesters, firing tear gas. We also heard live ammunition being used,” she said.

“The protesters are trying to reach the airport to greet Mondlane, and they can’t. So they are increasingly agitated. There has been a back and forth between the police and protesters.”

The number of injuries could not be immediately determined.

Mondlane, who was met by a large group of journalists after exiting the airport building, claims the October 9 election was rigged in favour of the candidate of the ruling Frelimo party, Daniel Chapo, who is due to be sworn in on January 15.

Mondlane went into hiding more than two months ago fearing for his life after two senior members of his party were killed in their car by unknown gunmen in the aftermath of the election, which also killed dozens of others.

“I am here in the flesh to say that if you want to negotiate … I am here,” Mondlane told reporters outside the airport.

The election dispute unleashed waves of violence that have left about 300 people dead, including protesters killed in a police crackdown, according to a tally by a local rights group.

Authorities say police officers have also been killed and there has been looting and vandalism. A decision by Mozambique’s top court, the Constitutional Council, to validate the election results triggered more demonstrations.

There were fears that Mondlane could be arrested on his return, including on charges related to the weeks of protests by his supporters, many of them young Mozambicans desperate for change after 50 years under the ruling Frelimo.

Frelimo, which has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, denies opposition accusations of electoral fraud. Western observers have said this year’s election was not free and fair.

Al Jazeera’s Miller said the government is blaming Mondlane for “inciting” the unrest across the country in recent weeks.

“They also said that he should pay for the damages caused in Mozambique during that time. The question now is, how will the government now respond?”

Mondlane’s supporters say his return from a two-month exile gives people hope. “We young people are here fighting for our tomorrow,” said Fatima Pinto, 20, who trained as a general medical technician.