LUSAKA (AFP) -- Zambia has temporarily closed its main border crossing with Tanzania following a night of riots that left several people injured and property damaged, an official said Friday. The riots were sparked off late Thursday after word went round that a Tanzanian national had died in police custody in the Zambian border town of Nakonde, said Edwin Sinyinza, a district commissioner in northern Zambia.
"We have temporarily closed the border in order to allow for calm," Sinyinza said.
He said some vehicles and houses were set ablaze while Zambians caught on the Tanzanian side of the border were badly injured by rioters before police from both sides moved in to quell the riots.
The Zambian government official said that four people had been admitted to hospital in a serious condition although he did not have a figure for the total number of injuries.
Sinyinza said over 15 vehicles were smashed and goods stolen by the rioters.
There was no immediate comment from police about the reports of the death in custody although a source said a statement was expected later in the day.
The Zambian police have sent more riot police officers to Nakonde, a border town in northern Zambia about 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the border with Tanzania.
The Nakonde border is widely used by Zambian businessmen to collect goods from the port of Dar-es-Salaam, which they purchase mainly from Dubai. It is the only land border crossing between the two countries although there is a separate terminal on Lake Tanganika.
