Daniel Chapo says he will be ‘president of all’, calls for ‘non-violence’ after week of protests against vote-rigging.

The death toll inflicted by Mozambique’s post-election unrest has climbed to 261, according to a local monitoring group, with most of the fatalities caused by police gunfire.

At least 21 people have been killed in unrest after Mozambique's top court on Monday confirmed long-ruling party Frelimo's victory in the election, the country's interior minister said late on Tuesday.

More than 1,500 prisoners escaped from a Maputo prison Wednesday, taking advantage of the third day of unrest triggered by the controversial confirmation of the long-ruling Frelimo party as the winner of recent elections.

More than 2,000 Mozambican families have sought refuge in Malawi this week, Malawian authorities said, as dozens of people were reported killed in spreading unrest over a disputed election in October.

As political violence in Mozambique continues, thousands of families are crossing the border into Malawi, with officials warning the situation is "dire."

Thousands have fled Mozambique in the past week to neighbouring Malawi seeking refuge from the southern African nation's deadly post-election protests, authorities told AFP.