At least 6,000 inmates escaped from a high-security prison in Mozambique's capital on Christmas Day after a rebellion, the country's police chief said, as widespread post-election unrest and violence is rocking the country.
Police Chief Bernardino Rafael said 33 prisoners were killed and 15 others wounded during a clash with security forces.
The prisoners fled during violent protests that saw police cars, police stations and infrastructure destroyed after the country's Constitutional Council confirmed the ruling Frelimo party as the winner of the October 9 election.
The escape from Maputo Central Prison, located 14 kilometers (9 miles) southwest of the capital, began around noon Wednesday following “agitation” by a “group of subversive protesters” nearby, Rafael said.
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Some of the prisoners at the center grabbed weapons from the guards and began freeing other detainees.
“A curious fact is that in that prison we had 29 convicted terrorists, who were released. “We are worried, as a country, as Mozambicans, as members of the defense and security forces,” Rafael stated.
“They (the protesters) were making noise, demanding that they be able to release the prisoners who are there serving their sentences,” Rafael said, adding that the protests caused a wall to collapse, allowing the prisoners to flee.
He called on the escaped prisoners to surrender to the authorities and for the population to be informed about the fugitives.
Videos circulating on social networks show the moment in which the inmates left the prison, while other recordings reveal captures made by military personnel and prison guards. Many prisoners tried to hide in houses, but some did not succeed and ended up detained again.
In one video, a prisoner still in handcuffs on his right wrist says he was held in the prison's disciplinary section and released by other inmates.
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