Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)

Disturbances spread on Tuesday to the town of Chibuto, and the district of Jangamo, in the southern Mozambican provinces of Gaza and Inhambane, as gangs of youths sought to copy the riots that took place in Maputo on 5 February.

The rioters, protesting against the high cost of living, attacked the main market in Chibuto, looting several stalls and destroying shop windows. They also threw up barricades on the main road into the town, preventing access to Chibuto for part of the morning.

According to Wednesday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", police shot into the air to disperse the crowd. There are no reports of deaths or injuries, but the police say they arrested 12 of the protesters.

The local police commander, Francisco Taimo, said the police were able to prevent any worse damage, because they were already on a state of alert. Police officers were stationed at strategic points in Chibuto before the riot began.

The Chibuto district administrator, Zacarias Soto, said "it's unclear what the group of protestors wanted".

In Jangamo district, protestors mounted barricades at Malaica on the country's main north-south road. Traffic was interrupted for several hours before the police cleared the road. Again the specific objectives of the protesters were not at all clear.

Meanwhile, in Maputo the city authorities have launched a campaign in schools to urge children not to take part in demonstrations. This backfired when pupils at the Laulane secondary school told Maputo city governor, Rosa da Silva, that they believed the 5 February riots were justified.

The teenagers rejected the commonly held view that they were "made use of" by the adult demonstrators. An outspoken teenage girl, Lurdes Muianga, speaking on behalf of the pupils, told Silva they had taken part in the riots, not because anybody else told them to, but because the problem of increased transport fares directly affected them.

Speaking to reporters, Muianga pointed out the awkward truth that rioting can work. It was only in the wake of the riots that the government and transport operators cancelled the fare increase.