Opposition leader says 50 killed in protests

Mozambique’s opposition leader called his supporters to three days of mourning from Wednesday for 50 people he said were killed by security forces in protests after disputed elections last month.

In a Facebook address watched by tens of thousands of people, Venancio Mondlane again demanded a recount of the October 9 vote which the electoral commission said was won by a landslide by the Frelimo party in power for nearly 50 years.

“We lost 50 people shot by the authorities who were supposed to protect these people,” said Mondlane, whose whereabouts are unknown. “They died as martyrs of a revolution of change.”

Neither the police nor the government have confirmed a death toll.

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Announcing a new wave of protests against a vote he called fraudulent, Mondlane urged his supporters to wear black for the three days of mourning.