South Africa’s border authority had announced on Saturday that it had partially reopened its main crossing with neighbour country, Mozambique, where last month’s disputed election sparked protests, brought up safety concerns.
Meanwhile, opposition supporters in Mozambique have been staging protests against what they have said is a fraudulent win by Frelimo, the party that has governed the southern African country since 1975.
South Africa had shut down the Lebombo port of entry in its Mpumalanga province earlier this week after it received reports of vehicles being set on fire on the Mozambican side.
“The port is now open for cargo movement, after the Mozambican authorities managed to address challenges with their systems to facilitate processing through the Ressano Garcia port of entry into Mozambique,” the Border Management Authority remarked.
It also added that the initial reopening of the port was to manage the movement of people “but this morning, the Mozambican authorities worked tirelessly to address cargo systems for smooth border processing”.
So far, 21 people have been killed in Mozambique, with several others injured in protests in which protesters burnt tyres, blocked roads and marched to Frelimo offices.
In retaliation, the authorities responded with tear gas and live ammunition and restricted access to the internet.
