Africa-Press – Mozambique. A group of garbage pickers set two vehicles on fire this Thursday at the Hulene landfill in Maputo, the Mozambican capital, after a police operation in which several suspects were arrested for involvement in “acts of disorder and vandalism”.
“After it was assumed the situation was under control, the joint force received information that some waste pickers had surrounded a waste collection truck and an excavator, forcibly removing their operators and then setting them on fire,” reads a press release from Maputo City Council.
The joint operation between the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) and the Municipal Police took place at around 10:00 a.m. yesterday near the Hulene landfill, the largest open-air dump in the country, and resulted in the arrest of “some individuals”, the document states, without specifying as to number.
According to the municipality, there was “some unrest” during the operation, but order was “promptly restored” by the police on the ground.
“The operation culminated in the arrest of several individuals identified as leaders of waste picker groups, who, since the [post-election] protests, have been carrying out acts of disorder and vandalism in that area, particularly on Julius Nyerere Avenue,” the municipality stated.
The municipality also noted that a search was now underway for those believed to have set the vehicles on fire.
Mozambique has experienced a climate of intense social unrest since the elections, with demonstrations and strikes called by former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who rejects the election results that gave victory to Daniel Chapo, supported by the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), the ruling party.
The worst post-election crisis was also marked by violent clashes between police and protesters, as well as vandalism and looting.
According to non-governmental organizations monitoring the electoral process, around 400 people died in clashes with the police, conflicts that ceased after two meetings between Mondlane and Chapo, aiming to pacify the country.
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