Country boosts security in Maputo due to demonstration fears

April 28, 2016 9:39 AM

"We will not tolerate any conduct that undermines the order security and public tranquillity," a police statement said, referring to rumours of demonstrations.

A fisherman cleans his boat beneath Maputo's skyline, Mozambique, August 15, 2015.

Mozambican security forces were deployed on the streets of the capital Maputo on Thursday after rumours of planned anti-government demonstrations circulated on social media, witnesses said.

Several posts on social media in recent days said new groups were planning to demonstrate on Saturday to vent popular anger at secret government borrowing which could cripple the economy in one of the world's poorest countries.

Armoured vehicles packed with police were deployed on major street corners in Maputo although there was no sign of civil unrest, two witnesses told Reuters.

Police on Wednesday warned the public not to do anything to unsettle the "harmonious coexistence" in Maputo.

The International Monetary Fund said on Saturday that Mozambique had admitted to having over one billion dollars of undisclosed debt.

The World Bank suspended aid to Mozambique pending an analysis of the country's debt sustainability, a spokesman said on Wednesday.