A whopping 6,000 inmates escaped a high-security jail in Mozambique on Christmas Day after stealing guards’ weapons.
Cops have now called on the criminals, including 29 terrorists, to surrender after fleeing through a collapsed wall.
According to Police Chief Bernardino Rafael, 33 prisoners died and 15 were injured during a fight with security forces as part of their escape.
The jailbreak occurred at Maputo Central Prison, nine miles southwest of Mozambique’s capital, Maputo.
Rafael stated that the riot began around midday on Wednesday, following agitation by a group of protesters outside the walls.
Some of the prisoners at the facility stole weapons from the guards and began releasing other detainees.
Rafael stated that protesters outside the prison “were making noise, demanding that they be able to remove the prisoners who are there serving their sentences” before the wall collapsed.
Prisoners were caught on video shouting and milling around in the jail’s yard.
Another video showed a man with handcuffs on one hand outside the prison proclaiming his freedom.
The man explains, “These handcuffs are because I started the first fire in the maximum security prison.
“I was in the disciplinary cell when my cronies instigated a revolution and freed me.
“I’m going home with this s***, but I am going to save the country” .
The prison riot comes as post-election violence erupted across the country.
Violence has engulfed Mozambique since Monday, when the country’s highest court declared the ruling party’s presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, the winner of the disputed October 9 elections.
Mozambique’s Interior Minister, Pascoal Ronda, told a news conference Tuesday that the violence was carried out primarily by young supporters of losing candidate Venancio Mondlane, who received 24% of the vote, trailing only Chapo, who received 65%.
