Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that at least 30 people have been killed in Mozambique in almost three weeks of repression of protests against a disputed presidential election.

"At least 30 people were killed between October 19 and November 6, including across the country," HRW told AFP, quoted by VOA.

The death toll does not include the violence recorded on November 7, when police and soldiers dispersed thousands of demonstrators in the capital, Maputo.

The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since the Frelimo party, which has been in power for almost 50 years, won the October 9 elections with more than 70% of the vote.

President Filipe Nyusi is expected to step down at the beginning of next year, at the end of his two-year term, giving way to Daniel Chapo.

The main opposition candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, supported by the Podemos party, came second in the presidential race, with 20% of the votes, but said that the results were "false".

Using social media, Mondlane took his supporters to the streets to demonstrate against the results, leading to clashes with police and soldiers.

On Thursday (07), in the largest demonstration to date, several thousand people marched in Maputo, some throwing stones and setting up barricades, before being dispersed by security agents.

The city's largest hospital, Maputo Central Hospital, said yesterday, Friday, that it had recorded three deaths due to the protest alone.

It also treated 66 injured people, four of whom were in a serious condition, spokesman Dino Lopes told reporters.

For its part, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) said it had recorded 34 deaths by November 7.

"What began as an appeal for electoral justice has turned into a brutal demonstration of state repression," said the CDD.

The security forces did not immediately confirm the death toll, but are expected to address journalists later on Friday.

(Photo DR)