At least 6 reported killed in Mozambique price riots

Wed Sep 1, 2010 6:06pm GMT

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By Charles Mangwiro

MAPUTO (Reuters) - Police opened fire on demonstrators protesting against rising prices in Mozambique's capital on Wednesday, killing at least six people including two children, police and hospital sources said.

The violence was the worst in the poor southern African country, home to 23 million people, since 2008.

The government said it had the situation under control.

"We call on everyone to be calm and serene. We ask for everyone's collaboration," Interior Minister Jose Pacheco said on Radio Mozambique.

Some police officials said police had shot live ammunition after running out of rubber bullets, although a national police spokesman told a news conference live ammunition was not used, according to Portugal's Lusa news agency.

Police officially said three people were killed, including two who were shot dead. Hospital and police sources said the death toll was at least six.

The president is expected to address the country on the protests soon, Lusa quoted a presidential spokesman as saying.

The protests appeared to have been touched off when the government increased prices on bread by 30 percent on Wednesday as wheat prices have soared around the world. Continued...

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<p>Demonstrators burn barricades during riots in protest at high food and fuel prices in Mozambique's capital Maputo, September 1, 2010. REUTERS/Grant Lee Neuenburg</p>

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