It was learnt that a decision by Mozambique’s top court confirming long-ruling party Frelimo’s victory in the election has sparked nationwide protests by opposition groups and their supporters who say the vote was rigged.
While Rafael blamed protests outside the prison for encouraging the riot, Justice Minister Helena Kida said the unrest started inside the prison and had nothing to do with demonstrations outside.
Rafael told a media briefing that the confrontations resulted in 33 deaths and 15 injured in the vicinity of the jail.
Read Also: Mozambique: Children killed in post-election protests
The identities of those killed and injured were unclear.
Rafael further said that about 1,534 people escaped from the prison in the incident but 150 have now been recaptured, adding that there were prison break attempts at two other prisons.
Rafael added that Mozambicans and security forces are worried as a country, saying they expect in the next 48 hours a rise in crime.
Mozambique’s interior minister said that at least 21 people were killed in unrest after the top court’s decision.
Before Tuesday, the civil society monitoring group, Plataforma Decide, said at least 130 people have been killed in clashes with police since the unrest started.