JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The European Union election observer mission to Mozambique is condemning the murder of a key local election observer a week before the vote.

A statement Tuesday says Anastácio Matavel was killed Monday morning after leaving a training for election observers in southern Gaza province.

The statement says violent clashes between political parties in the southern African nation have continued throughout the campaign "without a strong, clear and persistent condemnation" from the government or party leaders.

Mozambique's presidential election is Oct. 15 and President Filipe Nyusi with the ruling Frelimo party seeks a second five-year term.

Parts of the country are struggling to recover from a pair of cyclones that struck the central and northern regions earlier this year, while attacks by shadowy extremists in the north pose a growing concern.