Mozambique - Protests over food and fuel prices turn violent for a second consecutive day in Mozambique, leaving at least seven people dead and hundreds injured.

Police used rubber bullets to disperse protesters in the capital, Maputo, on Thursday.

The demonstrators were protesting an unprecedented inflation resulting from the loss of the value of the metical -- Mozambique's currency -- against South Africa's rand.

Most of the shops were closed amid reports of looting and vandalism, while in some areas protesters set fire to tires and trash.

Seven people have been killed and 288 have been injured during the riots in Maputo and surrounding areas since Wednesday, said government spokesman Alberto Nkutumula.

"[It is important for] all citizens to abstain from participating in acts of upheaval, vandalism, looting and violence in general to enable the quick return to normality," he was quoted by AFP as saying.

Nkutumula added that the unrest had cost the Mozambican economy MZN 122 million (USD 3.3 million).

The metical has fallen by 43 percent against the rand in one year, dealing a heavy blow to the economy of import-dependent Mozambique.

FTP/MMN

originally published in Press TV