Troops have been deployed in Mozambique amid a second day of rioting caused by soaring prices.

The government said seven people had been killed and 280 injured in the protests, in which roads were blocked and shops looted. There have been claims that police used live ammunition.

Comments from some government officials – including one remark that people should work more – have provoked anger.

One young demonstrator said: “Maybe we could calm down but the words of the prime minister and President Armando Emílio Guebuza are what make us continue the strike. He is not calming the situation.”

Police say troops were called in to clear barricades, not restore law and order.

The price of bread, which has risen by 30 percent, is causing the most anger. The government-imposed hike means a roll costs 15 cents in a country where the average worker earns under 30 euros a month.

Mozambicans have also been hit by the rising price of other items such as wheat.

Some 70 percent of the population are said to live below the poverty line.

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