Food riots kill seven in Mozambique

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MAPUTO, Mozambique, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- A 30 percent rise in bread prices triggered riots in Maputo, Mozambique, that killed at least seven people and injured 228, government officials said.

The riots Wednesday and Thursday in the country's capital prompted fears that food protests could spread across poorer African countries relying on agricultural imports, similar to the riots of 2007-08, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

Wheat prices rose in reaction to Russia's extension of its grain export ban for another year, increasing the potential of more riots over food shortages, officials said.

"Bread is the key item in the basket for ordinary people," Adriano Nuvunga, a political analyst in Maputo, told the Financial Times. "People are worried that the rising costs have reached the point of no return."

The 2007-08 food crisis, when the cost of agricultural commodities hit a record high, sparked riots across many developing countries, particularly in Africa.