Maputo - European Union ambassadors in Mozambique have condemned a failed assassination attempt on the leader of a new opposition party who is running for president later this year, local television reported Friday.

Daviz Simango, mayor of the port city of Beira and leader of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), escaped an attack Tuesday in the northern city of Nacala-Porto.

Police say the bodyguard of a rival opposition presidential candidate grabbed a policeman's gun and fired as Simango was arriving at a rally. No one was shot but a policeman was lightly injured.

Mozambican television on Friday quoted the EU ambassadors to the southern African country in a statement as condemning the attack as an "attack on the freedom of expression and democracy."

"It is crucial for a healthy democracy, especially when elections are drawing near, to let opponents work safely without any hindrance," the ambassadors said.

Simango, 49, has announced he will run against President Armando Guebuza and the ruling Frelimo party in the synchronized presidential and parliamentary elections.

Police said the bodyguard who fired the gun on Tuesday worked for Afonso Dhlakamo, leader of the main opposition Renamo, which Simango quit last year after it refused to field him for re-election as Beira's mayor.

He ran as an independent, was re-elected and formed the MDM, which has won support among young voters and the intelligentsia.

MDM is seen as a threat to Renamo's support.

Renamo fought a brutal 16-year civil war against Frelimo between 1976 and 1992 that killed at least one million people. (dpa)