Saturday, February 25, 2012

Africa: 4 Tanzanian police officers have been detained after two people were killed during a protest over alleged witchcraft killings

A regional commander said that police had opened fire in the south-eastern town of Songea to stop an angry crowd from smashing public property. The protesters said that not enough had been done to find those behind the recent killing of six women. Police deny that the murders were done to obtain body parts for witchcraft use. In recent years, there have been a spate of killings of people with albinism in Tanzania. Their body parts are prized in parts of Africa, with witch-doctors claiming that they have special powers to bring success in business and love. The women killed in the Songea area were not believed to be albinos.