The Minister of the Interior, Paulo Chachine, says that Mozambique has the security conditions to receive the approximately 13,000 Mozambican citizens from Zambezia province who have taken refuge in Malawi as a result of the electoral protests.

"I believe there is security in the country. The country is safe, there is security in the country," he told the press today in the Malawian capital, Blantyre.

Paulo Chachine acknowledged, however, that there are pockets of violence and destabilization in Mozambican territory, but that these are not an argument for talking about instability in the country. "The country is safe, and work is being done".

"There may be small pockets of destabilization, but we can't talk about a lack of security in the country, otherwise all the Mozambican people would be refugees [in neighbouring countries] and nobody would be in Mozambique," he said.

The Minister is in Malawi to accompany the start of the return of families seeking shelter in that country, but noted that the return is voluntary.

"You can't force people to go back. A refugee's return home must come from his conscience, with joy and will," he said.

The first phase of repatriation is expected to cover around 7,000 Mozambicans, but at this stage return is optional, he noted.

"At this stage, those who want to will return and that's who we're going to support," he noted, quoted by the STV.

However, he said that there are other issues to be dealt with in Malawi that go beyond the refugee issue, even though it is the most pressing one at the moment.

One of the topics is border security, which will be discussed with the Malawian Minister of Internal Security.