Turkish Airlines cancels flights to Mozambique amid political unrest

ANKARA

Due to political unrest in Mozambique, national flag carrier Turkish Airlines has canceled flights to the capital Maputo scheduled for Thursday.

Johannesburg-Maputo intermediate leg flights of the Istanbul-Maputo route have been reciprocally canceled, 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% of the vote, a result contested by opposition groups alleging electoral fraud.

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.