SIX TANZANIANS KILLED BY GUNMEN NEAR MOZAMBIQUE BORDER

Tanzania's Inspector General of Police, Simon Sirro

Our Correspondent, MTWARA Tanzania

Unknown gunmen have killed six Tanzanians and wounded seven others near the border with Mozambique, the east African nation's Director of Criminal Investigation, Robert Boaz, said on Wednesday.

"The Tanzanians were killed in a border village of Ngongo in Tandahimba district in Mtwara region on Tuesday night," Boaz told a news conference in the Mtwara municipality.

He said the victims were shot dead by the gunmen suspected to have crossed over to Tanzania from neighbouring Mozambique, adding that the seven injured were receiving treatment at Tandahimba district government hospital.

Boaz said Tanzanian police in collaboration with other security organs have launched a manhunt for the killers.

"We will make sure that the killers are arrested and face the full force of the law," said Boaz.

In June, gunmen from an Islamist militant armed group operating in Cabo Delgado killed 11 people in northern Mozambique near its border with Tanzania.

Impoverished Cabo Delgado, surrounded by dense forests and isolated villages, houses a growing number of multinational companies developing one of the biggest offshore gas finds in a decade - estimated to be worth at least $30 billion.

The attacks have mostly targeted civilians and government buildings. But in February U.S. energy giant Anadarko said one worker was killed and several others injured in two attacks near the construction site for its massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the province. - Africa