More than 80 inmates of a northern Mozambique prison who died in mysterious circumstances earlier this week appear to have suffocated, investigators said Friday in a preliminary report.
"We have so far concluded that the deaths resulted from suffocation," investigator Eugenio Zacarias told state radio, after carrying out autopsies on more than 30 corpses.
The bodies did not show any signs of serious aggression which could have led to death, he said.
But other inmates told Radio Mozambique that there had been troubles late Tuesday in the prison when a group of detainees -- all traditional fighters believed to possess magical powers -- began fighting among themselves.
One detainee said he heard voices instigating the violence. Later, after several people were severely beaten, he said he saw huge clouds of smoke and water in the cells before he escaped the fighting.
During Mozambique's 16-year civil war, traditional fighters known as naparamas fought against RENAMO rebels, but not alongside government forces.
The naparamas fighters did not use modern weaponry, but earned RENAMO's respect as warriors. The traditional fighters believed they could make themselves bulletproof.
When a peace accord ended the war in 1992, no settlement was ever reached with naparamas.
District administrator Germano Joaquim told the government-run daily Noticias that the dead prisoners were all opposition RENAMO demonstrators arrested during violent protests two weeks ago against last December's election results.
The number dead in the prison continues to rise, with state broadcasters reporting 83 dead and RENAMO reporting about 100 dead -- MAPUTO (AFP)
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