Prime Minister Rafael said anti-government protesters approached a prison in the capital Maputo on Wednesday. The inmates took advantage of the unrest to break down the wall and escape, he said.
Mozambique has been rocked by unrest since last October’s controversial elections. Official results showed Daniel Chapo, the ruling Frelimo party’s presidential candidate, winning.
Fresh protests erupted on Monday after the Constitutional Court ruled that Chapo had won the election and downgraded his odds.
Early results from October showed Daniel Chapo received 71% of the vote, compared to 20% for his main rival, Venâncio Mondlane. The court has now ruled that he won 65% to Mondlane’s 24%.
A BBC reporter discovered that Maputo is like a ghost town on Christmas Eve. Almost all shops are closed and people are staying home to avoid being caught up in the city’s worst unrest since Frelimo first came to power in 1975.
Frelimo’s offices, police stations, banks and factories were looted, vandalized and burned across the country. The interior minister said late Tuesday that at least 21 people have been killed in unrest since Monday.
Mondlane, who has since left Mozambique, has urged his supporters to protest against the rigged vote.
In a social media message over the weekend, he said there could be a “new popular uprising” if the results are not overturned.
Approximately 150 people were killed in protests that continued for three months after the election.
