Four people, including three teenagers, were shot when police fired in an attempt to stop a motorcycle race in Nampula province, public broadcaster Televisão de Moçambique (TVM) reported today.

TVM reports that the case took place on Sunday in the district of Mogovolas, when people gathered to watch a motorcycle race that was being held to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the creation of the district's seat.

A spokesman for the force told the channel that an officer was forced to fire to disperse a crowd that had gathered in front of the police command in Mogolas to demand the return of motorcycles that had been seized by the authorities.

"Some of the motorcyclists rioted at the district command with the intention of invading the command" and among them there were "individuals in bad faith, who went with the intention of creating unrest and not recovering the motorcycles", said the spokesman.

The shots that hit the victims were "due to a procedural error" by the officer and the case is being investigated by the authorities, he added.

The motorcycles that were going to take part in the race, which has since been canceled, are used as cabs and are one of the main means of passenger transport in some districts of northern Mozambique.

The Mozambican police are often accused of excessive and unjustified use of force against civilians and criminal suspects. (frog)