Good afternoon. Mozambique has been in turmoil today after protests erupted over the fatal shooting on Friday night of Elvino Dias, the lawyer of opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, and Paulo Guambe, the official representative of the Podemos party which has been supporting him. Readers unfamiliar with the events of the past three days can find updates on our live blog, available on Telegram and our website.

No hard evidence has emerged as to the identity of the killers or who directed them, but the general suspicion in the country is that the killings were carried out by members of the security forces, and that they were authorised by powers with the ruling Frelimo party. That much is clear from the ripping down and burning of Frelimo flags in the capital city of Maputo today. The killings were carried out quickly and with professional efficiency, and the 9mm pistols used are generally not available to civilians, only to security forces.

The shootings came three days before a proposed general strike which Mondlane had called for, and they led Mondlane to change his tactics. Having previously asked people to stay at home, he called for demonstrations to protest, and many people responded. There were protests today in cities such as Maputo, Pemba, Beira and Nacala. In Maputo, public transport was paralysed and the daily rhythm of the city was disrupted.

Police have responded to the protests with restraint, at least by Mozambican standards. No civilians have been shot as yet, and officers have not been beating up protesters (although they have used their favourite crowd control measure of firing live ammunition into the air, which remains irresponsible and dangerous). There can be no doubt that this restraint was at the direction of their political masters.

Not that the public will be grateful to the police, especially not those members of the public who were greeted with tear gas on the streets of Maputo today. TV images of police firing tear gas in the direction of Mondlane and a group of journalists while he was being interviewed will only exacerbate the tensions.

There was already a certain amount of public unrest at the increasing amounts of evidence that the general election on 9 October was seriously affected by fraud. The killings of Dias and Guambe have greatly added to that unrest, so much so that it is no longer possible for Frelimo and its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, to ignore them. Some kind of response will be unavoidable.

What Chapo can or will do remains to be seen; he remains all but certain to be confirmed as the winner of the presidential election when the National Elections Commission announces nationwide election results on Thursday. If the results already announced at district and provincial level, which are hotly disputed, are confirmed, it will show that the hardliners in Frelimo have won the day and that the party refuses to compromise with the opposition.

Zitamar News understands that Chapo wanted to make a statement in person condemning the killings, but was discouraged by several party figures around him. In the end, he made a written statement, which was much stronger than Frelimo’s brief response. This indicates the level of division within the party. Moderates in Frelimo are currently trying to find a way of responding to the killings and seeking some sort of reconciliation with Podemos. This will not be easy, since Mondlane and Podemos insist that they won the election, and Frelimo, whose hardliners believe that only they have the right to govern, is not going to concede. It is hard not to choke on the irony of Chapo’s statement condemning the killings as an attack on democracy, when Chapo is set to be the beneficiary of large-scale electoral fraud.

The justice system usually protects Frelimo, but it is possible that the party could resolve to allow an investigation to go ahead and for anyone in Frelimo found responsible to be punished. A similar thing happened when party figures persuaded President Filipe Nyusi to allow the criminal trial over the so-called “hidden debts” or “tuna bond” corruption scandal to go ahead.

In the meantime, will the disorder continue? Mondlane has asked his supporters to go home, apparently not wanting to foment violence (or at least to be blamed for doing so). But with two parties contesting the election results and the scandal of a political assassination still fresh in the air, a resolution looks a long way away for now.

Finally, the disunity in the country has not been helped by the fact that President Nyusi has been silent about the killings, just as he has not made many statements since the election. As president, Nyusi is the commander-in-chief of the security forces, and he is also supposed to lead the entire nation. There has been international condemnation of the killings from Mozambique’s partners, yet Nyusi has nothing to say. His failure to make a statement is just the icing on the cake when it comes to the shame that has been brought on the country.

Today’s headlines:

• Unrest breaks out after killings of opposition figures (BBC, Reuters, O País, O País)
• Armed forces say they are gaining ground in Macomia (Integrity)
• Two women die buried in a quarry in Panda (O País)
• Journalists’ union criticises imbalance in election coverage (Lusa)
• LAM suspended from IATA (Evidências, Integrity)
• Plans to begin iron production in Tete (Rádio Moçambique)

Unrest breaks out after killings of opposition figures (BBC, Reuters, O País, O País)

Police used tear gas on the streets of Maputo today to repel protests who were demonstrating after the killings of Elvino Dias, lawyer to opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, and Paulo Guambe of the Podemos party on Friday night. Some journalists were injured by falling tear gas canisters, including those who were attending an appearance by Mondlane in a public square. The killings have been condemned by Daniel Chapo, presidential candidate of ruling party Frelimo, and by first lady Isaura Nyusi, as well as by Human Rights Watch and the Mozambican NGO the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights. The European Union and Portugal have also condemned the killings and called for an investigation. The More Integrity election observer group said that the shootings were designed to intimidate anyone calling for transparency in the 9 October general elections, where Mondlane and Podemos claim they have won, contrary to provisional official results.

The Commonwealth, United States, United Kingdom and Canada have also condemned the killings.

Armed forces say they are gaining ground in Macomia (Integrity)

Several insurgents have been put out of action and war material has been captured by Mozambican and Rwandan forces in Macomia district, Cabo Delgado province, following a military operation underway since last Tuesday, according to website Integrity, which cites military sources. The operation is taking place in the forests of Nampala, Manica and Mucojo, it said, adding that the actions have restored peace to those regions where insurgents were previously thought to be concentrated.

Two women die buried in a quarry in Panda (O País)

Two women died after rocks fell on top of them in a quarry in the district of Panda, Inhambane province on Friday. They were mining stone in an area that had previously been abandoned by a road construction company.

Journalists’ union criticises imbalance in election coverage (Lusa)

The National Union of Journalists has said that some media outlets gave unequal amounts of time and space to the different candidates and political parties in the general election on 9 October. However, it added, Mozambican media professionals demonstrated their indispensable role in the general elections, sharing relevant information and helping to strengthen democracy and freedom of opinion.

It is very unusual for the journalists union, traditionally aligned with ruling party Frelimo, to make such a comment. Other media and research groups have indicated a tendency in media coverage to favour Frelimo and its presidential candidate Daniel Chapo. Frelimo has paid for a considerable number of journalists to follow Chapo during its political campaign across the country.

LAM suspended from IATA (Evidências, Integrity)

Mozambican state-owned airline LAM has been suspended from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) since last Thursday for non-payment of membership fees. In connection with the IATA decision, Emirates Airlines ended a co-operation partnership with LAM on Friday. This is the second time this year that LAM has been suspended by the IATA. It was last suspended in July,  also for non-payment,  according to newspaper Evidências.

Neither LAM nor the aviation authorities have commented on this matter.

Plans to begin iron production in Tete (Rádio Moçambique)

A smelter to produce iron using iron ore and coking coal is to be set up in the district of Moatize, Tete province, according to the minister of industry and commerce, Silvino Moreno. Moreno said there was abundant raw material in the area to make the project viable. He added that the plant, the first of its kind in Mozambique, would transform coal locally, stimulating production and reducing its export in raw form, as well as generating employment and income, but did not give details of the project.

These kinds of projects reach the news outlets very frequently but none have materialised in the last two decades. One of the main reasons is the difficulty to attract finance from international banks to support projects using coal as fuel.