33 people are killed in a jail riot in Mozambique as the nation is engulfed in civil strife

As political violence connected to October’s disputed election continues, Mozambique’s police general commander, Bernardino Rafael, reported Wednesday that a jail riot in the capital city of Maputo had left 33 people dead and 15 injured.

Mozambique’s top court ruled on Monday that the long-ruling Frelimo party won the election, sparking new statewide protests by opposition parties and supporters who claim the vote was stolen.

The incident was sparked inside the prison and had nothing to do with protesters outside, Justice Minister Helena Kida told local private channel Miramar TV, while Rafael blamed the riot on protests outside the prison.

“The confrontations after that resulted in 33 deaths and 15 injured in the vicinity of the jail.” Rafael said during a press conference.

It was unknown who was murdered and who was injured.

According to Rafael, 150 of the 1,534 inmates who escaped from the prison during the incident had since been apprehended. He also mentioned that two other prisons had attempted prison breaks.

“We are worried as a country, Mozambicans and security forces,” Rafael stated. “We expect in the next 48 hours a rise in crime.”

Following the ruling by the top court, Mozambique’s interior minister reported on Tuesday that at least 21 people had been killed in riots.

Before Tuesday, Plataforma Decide, a civil society monitoring group, said that since the unrest began, at least 130 people have been murdered in battles with police.