News Africa news
Riots continued into the evening in townships around the Mozambican capital Maputo on Thursday as residents protested increases in living costs.
Seven people had been killed during violent demonstrations that entered their second day in the capital and nearby town of Matola, government spokesman Alberto Nkutumula told journalists.
“The destructive activities, resulting from the unrest caused huge human and material damage,” Nkutumula said after an emergency cabinet meeting. A total of 288 people were wounded during protests on Wednesday.
Mozambicans went on strike in protest against increases in living costs. Bread prices rose 17 percent, while the cost of water and electricity also went up following fuel price hikes and the devaluation of the national currency, the metical.
Skirmishes between police and protesters restarted on Thursday morning as crowds blockaded roads with burning tyres again. Demonstrators took to looting and damaging property, damaging 11 public service buses and destroying another completely, Nkutumula said.
Meanwhile South African Airways on Thursday used large Airbus A340-200s, normally used for longer international flights, on its two scheduled flights to Maputo to bring back travellers. They had been left stranded after their flights were cancelled on Wednesday.
Flights took off and landed without incident in Maputo. The city's international airport was open, although demonstrators periodically barricaded the roads leading to it.
