Amnesty International accuses Mozambique security forces of brutal crackdown after 2024 elections
Amnesty International has accused Mozambican security forces of committing serious human rights violations during a violent crackdown on post-election protests between October 2024 and January 2025, including unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests, and the use of excessive force.
In a detailed report, the human rights organisation found that both police and military forces used reckless and unnecessary force against peaceful demonstrators, in violation of international laws and Mozambique’s constitutional guarantees.
In multiple documented incidents, security forces used live ammunition and less-lethal weapons, such as tear gas and rubber bullets, indiscriminately, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries.
"Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps and Crisis Evidence Lab verified 105 videos and photos that showed evidence of the use of lethal and less lethal weapons by security forces in the context of the protests...Two physicians who treated dozens of persons injured in the context of the protests told Amnesty International that they saw patients injured by bullets, KIPs, and tear gas. Injuries included bone fractures, internal bleeding, serious damage to organs, chest injuries, and breathing problems," the report read in part.
According to Plataforma DECIDE, a local civil society group that tracked the violence via a hotline, at least 315 people were killed and more than 3,000 injured during the protests, which followed contested general election results announced in October. The crackdown also included mass arrests of over 4,000 people - among them children as young as 14 - many of whom were detained without legal representation.
“These acts amount to gross violations of the right to life, freedom of assembly, and freedom from arbitrary detention and torture,” Amnesty International stated. “Mozambican police and army units acted unlawfully and with impunity, targeting both protesters and bystanders.”
Amnesty interviewed 28 individuals, including victims, eyewitnesses, medical professionals, lawyers, and family members of those affected.
Amnesty has urged the Mozambican government to launch impartial and thorough investigations into all allegations of excessive force, killings, and unlawful detentions, as well as justice and reparations for victims.
