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Walmart store in Florida (archive image)
Photo: CARLOS BARRIA / REUTERS
The tension ahead of the US election is growing.
Both candidates are making their final appearances to convince undecided voters.
With the approaching election evening, however, concerns about possible outbreaks of violence around the vote are growing.
The US retail group Walmart has now moved guns and ammunition from the shelves of its stores in the US.
These would continue to be sold on request, said a spokesman on Thursday.
Since it came to "isolated unrest", however, the step "for the safety of employees and customers" was taken.
This corresponds to the procedure already known on several occasions in recent years.
After George Floyd's death from police violence, Walmart had made a similar decision that summer.
The spokesman did not say when the weapons should be openly sold again.
In any case, according to the announcement, weapons are only sold "in around half of all locations, especially where there are many hunters and sport shooters".
The group operates nearly 4,800 stores in the United States.
Rioting and looting have erupted in several US cities this year, including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Portland.
At the same time, US firearms sales hit record levels ahead of Tuesday's vote.
Experts do not rule out violence in the area of choice.
Amnesty calls for protesters to be protected
A week ago Amnesty International made an appeal to the US government.
The human rights organization demands that these protesters protect against violence before the presidential election on November 3rd.
Security forces are currently unable to prevent peaceful gatherings from being disrupted, according to a report published on Friday.
However, law enforcement officials must ensure that the basic right to peaceful assembly can be exercised.
A few days before the election, the Democratic challenger Joe Biden is ahead of incumbent Donald Trump in most polls - and in some cases clearly.
The former US Vice President can also book a lead in the swing states that may be decisive for the election.
Nevertheless, observers expect a close election result.
In particular, the fact that an extremely large number of postal voters can be expected due to the corona crisis could cause unrest on election evening.
Depending on how quickly these votes are counted, a reliable result can be a long time coming.
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