Police in Mozambique fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital Maputo Thursday after the main opposition leader called for a demonstration against election results.
The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since an October 9 vote, won by the Frelimo party which has been in power for almost 50 years.
Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who said the results were false and that he won, called for a mass protest on Thursday, telling AFP in an interview that it was a "crucial moment" for the country.
"I feel that there is a revolutionary atmosphere... that shows that we are on the verge of a unique historical and political transition in the country," said Mondlane, speaking from an undisclosed location.
The 50-year-old former radio presenter told AFP he could not disclose his whereabouts other than to say he was not in Africa.
The Mozambique Bar Association warned there were "conditions for a bloodbath" on Thursday as a heavy security presence was seen deployed across the capital.
Several thousand people took to the streets on Thursday morning, with some dispersed by riot police using tear gas, according to AFP reporters at the scene.
The city of more than one million people was a ghost town, with shops, banks, schools and universities closed.
"Our first objective... is certainly the restoration of electoral truth," Mondlane told AFP on Zoom late on Wednesday.
"We want the popular will expressed at the polls on October 9 to be restored."
He said he was "waging a struggle" with "national" and "historical purpose".
"People have realised that it wasn't possible to bring profound change in Mozambique without taking risks," he said, and that "now they have to free themselves".
At least 18 killed
Using social media, Mondlane has rallied supporters out onto the streets on several occasions for demonstrations that have turned violent in police crackdowns.
At least 18 people have been killed in the post-electoral violence, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), while a local NGO the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) said the death toll was 24.
A police officer was also killed in a protest at the weekend, Defence Minister Cristovao Chume told reporters Tuesday, warning the army could intervene "to protect the interests of the state".
"There is an intention to change the democratically established power," said Chume.
President Filipe Nyusi is expected to step down early next year at the end of his two-term limit and hand over to Frelimo's Daniel Chapo, who won the presidential election with 71% of the vote, according to the electoral commission.
Mondlane, who has lodged a case at the Constitutional Council to request a ballot recount, told AFP that he was "open to a government of national unity".
The authorities have restricted access to internet across the country, in an apparent effort to "suppress peaceful protests and public criticism of the government," according to HRW.
Outside the country
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has warned against "unnecessary or disproportionate force", saying police should "ensure that they manage protests in line with Mozambique's international human rights obligations".
The Southern African Development Community has called for an extraordinary summit between November 16 and 20 in part to discuss developments in Mozambique.
Mondlane left the country last month following the unrest.
He initially said he would be at Thursday's march but on Wednesday told AFP he wouldn't return after all due to safety concerns.
"I wanted so much to be in Maputo with my people. But unfortunately I received more than 5,000 messages... Ninety-nine percent of those messages discouraged me from going to Maputo," he said.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to be there."
AFP