Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Monday that at least 10 children were killed and dozens injured in Mozambique’s post-election violence.
The unrest followed the disputed October 9 election, won by the ruling Frelimo party, which has governed since independence. Opposition parties have contested the results, fueling nationwide protests.
One of the victims, a 13-year-old girl, was fatally shot while fleeing tear gas and gunfire during a protest, HRW revealed.
The rights group documented nine additional cases of children killed and 36 injured by gunfire during the demonstrations.
Mozambican police have detained hundreds of children, often without notifying their families, in what HRW calls a violation of international human rights laws.
President Filipe Nyusi condemned the unrest in a recent state of the nation address, accusing protesters of attempting to “install chaos.”
Nyusi stated that 19 people, including five police officers, have died in the violence, with more than 800 injured, 66 of them police.
Civil society groups contest these figures, reporting over 67 deaths and 2,000 arrests since the unrest began.
Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who claims to have won the election, has led many of the protests and now seeks dialogue with the president.
