Protest in Maputo dispersed by police: Journalist shot during clashes
Tension briefly gripped the city of Maputo as hundreds of youths gathered on Joaquim Chissano Avenue to begin a planned march. However, the police swiftly mobilized with ground and aerial forces to prevent the demonstration from progressing.
The atmosphere at the chosen gathering point is currently tense, particularly as it is the same location where two opposition figures, Elvino Dias, a trusted advisor to presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, and Paulo Guambe, the PODEMOS party delegate, were assassinated just two days ago.
On the ground, police deployed tear gas, while helicopters from the Defence and Security Forces hovered above the streets of Maputo, monitoring the crowds and directing ground units toward areas with higher concentrations of protesters.
As the volume of tear gas increased, protesters were dispersed, with many scrambling to find water to wash their faces.
During the commotion, a journalist, a cameraman for a national television station, was shot. The scene is being closely monitored by both local and international press, who are on-site documenting the unfolding events.
So far, Venâncio Mondlane, who had called for the protest, has not been seen at the location where the protest, now forcibly dispersed, was to take place.
