6,000 inmates escape from Mozambique jail amid post-election violence

(AFRICA NEWS) – At least 6,000 prisoners have escaped from a maximum prison in Mozambique as widespread post-election riots and violence continue to engulf the country, officials said Wednesday. Thirty-three of them are said to have died during confrontations with the police and the military.

Mozambican police chief Bernardino Rafael said 6,000 inmates broke out of a maximum security prison in the capital Maputo after a rebellion on Wednesday on the side lines of violent protests that have seen police cars, stations and general public infrastructure destroyed after the country’s Constitutional Council confirmed the ruling Frelimo party as winner of the Oct.9 elections.

There have also been reports of widespread looting of shops. Police say that prisoners at the facility snatched weapons from prison warders and started freeing other detainees.