An agent from the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) deployed to maintain order during the protests in Maputo city on Friday did not escape the effects of tear gas fired by other agents to disperse the population.

The man, who did not want to be identified, confirmed that the police are in fact causing the riots through their actions.

Yesterday, the police fired tear gas at demonstrators on Avenida Eduardo Mondlane. The UIR officer was there. After washing his face from the tear gas, he lamented, deplored and condemned the attitude of his colleagues.

"This is inhumane. It was just the National Anthem. The people didn't even throw a stone. The police arrived and threw them. A traffic officer was there. That gentleman was sick. If it hadn't been for the neighbor with the bombs, who showed up with a bucket of water and helped the policeman, he could have died. And then [the police] say that it's the people who are killing the police themselves, while it's them [the police] who are killing. They're not in control. The police are looking at the people like garbage," said the officer quoted by TV Success.