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Over 2,000 Mozambican families have sought refuge in Malawi this week, according to Malawian authorities, amid reports of dozens killed in escalating unrest following October election dispute.
On Friday, some businesses, including banks, closed in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, and increased patrols were established in certain areas after a deadly prison riot and escape occurred on Wednesday.
For nearly two months, Mozambique has experienced violent protests since the electoral commission announced that the ruling Frelimo party retained power and its candidate won the presidency. Frelimo has denied allegations of electoral fraud from the opposition.
The Constitutional Council’s decision to uphold the election results on Monday sparked further demonstrations. Monitoring group Plataforma Decide reported a death toll of 125 since the court’s ruling and 252 since late October.
A senior official from Malawi stated that as of Wednesday, 2,182 Mozambican households fleeing the violence had crossed into Malawi’s Nsanje district, which borders Mozambique.
“The situation remains dire as these individuals urgently require humanitarian assistance,” Nsanje district commissioner Dominic Mwandira said in a letter to the country’s commissioner for refugees seen by Reuters
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Mozambique’s main opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, who the Constitutional Council stated finished second in the presidential election and disputes the results, has called on his supporters to protest further while urging them to avoid looting and damaging infrastructure.
The ongoing unrest has impacted foreign companies operating in Mozambique, including mining firms Gemfields Group (GEMGE.L) and South32 (S32.AX), as well as petrochemical company Sasol (SOLJ.J).mozam
Operations at Gemfields’ largest ruby mine in Mozambique were temporarily suspended on Tuesday following violent incidents near the site, as reported in a statement on Friday. Over 200 individuals attempted to access a residential area for mine employees and set fire to structures, leading to Mozambican security forces shooting and killing two people, according to Gemfields.
A prison riot in Maputo on Christmas Day resulted in at least 33 deaths and allowed more than 1,500 prisoners to escape, although some have since been recaptured.
Frelimo has been in power in Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975. Western observers have criticized this year’s election as neither free nor fair.
