The recent riots on the Ressano Garcia border culminated in the dismissal of the head of operations of the First Police Station of the Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) and the reinforcement of security there.

Residents of the town say that muggings on the public highway, extortion by PRM agents and kidnappings tend to be more frequent in the area.

"People are robbed and murdered here in Ressano. There are many robberies involving the police themselves. We've already had cases of murder and kidnapping this year," said citizens interviewed by STV.

This Saturday, the population gathered to talk to the police. The meeting was not fruitful and ended in violence. The police dragged away a citizen and people threw stones at the officers, who then fled. Traffic was disrupted for around four hours.

Despite the fact that the head of the Ressano Garcia operations has been removed, and another meeting has taken place with tempers subdued, the young people promise to continue with the demonstrations as long as the unrest persists.

"This will still go on if we don't get the right answer. We're up for it," said one young man.

The PRM has sent a contingent of different specialties to control the situation. They are tasked with reinforcing patrols and dialoguing with the community. For the time being, the PRM says that the level of clarification of criminal cases in the town corresponds to 87%.