Death toll rises to 39 from Mozambique protests

MAPUTO, Mozambique (Reuters) -- The death toll from last week's protests against Mozambique's 1999 general election rose to 39 on Sunday after several people died in hospital, state radio said.

Protests in northern Mozambique against the December election began on Thursday and were suspended after two days by opposition Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama. The radio had put the death toll on Saturday at 32.

The wave of demonstrations followed accusations by Renamo that Mozambique's ruling Frelimo party rigged the election in parts of the country dominated by the former rebel movement.

Mozambique radio said that Renamo protestors had stolen more than 143 guns in the northern town of Montepuez -- about 650 km (406 miles) north of the capital Maputo -- when they overran a police command post.

"Courts have also started sentencing some of the people that were arrested during the protests," it said. Up 53 people have now been given jail terms ranging from three to six months.

Earlier this year, Renamo leader Dhlakama threatened to form his own government in his power base in central Mozambique, after accusing the government of electoral fraud. International observers declared the election free and fair.

On Saturday Dhlakama said he had suspended the protests to consider its reaction to the deaths of some of its supporters.

The December vote, contested by President Joaquim Chissano's left-wing government and Renamo, was the second in Mozambique since the end of the civil war in 1992. That conflict broke out soon after Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

Mozambique's National Elections Commission declared Chissano the winner in the presidential vote with 52.3 percent against 47.7 percent for Dhlakama.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

See related sites about Africa

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.