Turkish Airlines cancels flights to Mozambique amid political unrest

Due to political unrest in Mozambique, Turkish Airlines has cancelled flights to the capital Maputo scheduled for Thursday.

Johannesburg-Maputo intermediate leg flights of the Istanbul-Maputo route have been reciprocally cancelled, the airlines said in a statement.

The move comes amid ongoing instability in the region following the country's highest court confirming on Monday, that the ruling Frelimo party, in power since 1975, had won October's presidential elections.

The ruling Frelimo party's candidate, Daniel Chapo, was declared the winner with approximately 65 percent of the vote, a result contested by opposition groups alleging electoral fraud.

Significant increase in crimes

The unrest has also led to significant security breaches, including a mass prison escape near Maputo where over 1,500 inmates fled during riots on Wednesday.

The clash inside the prison left 33 dead and 15 injured.

The latest fatalities brought the death toll in the country to 151 since Oct. 21, according to Plataforma Decide, an election monitoring group.

A significant increase in crimes is anticipated in the capital city of Maputo over the next 48 hours, said the country’s Police General Commander, Bernardino Rafael.