DAR ES SALAAM, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian police chief said Wednesday that foreign hands were behind the spate of killings in the East African nation's Coast region.
At least 40 people, including local leaders and police officers, have been killed by assailants in Kibiti, Mkuranga and Rufiji districts in Coast region since about two years ago, sending shockwaves among residents in the area.
"The government will soon reveal the truth behind these grisly killings," Inspector General of Police (IGP) Simon Sirro told a news conference in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
Sirro said preliminary investigations had revealed that the chief mission of the involved foreigners was to instigate civil strife in the country.
"We are aware of this and we will not allow it to continue happening," said Sirro who was appointed recently by President John Magufuli with the main task of ending the killings.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said recently that the government was closing in on perpetrators of the spate of killings of civilians and police officers.
Majaliwa said the state was currently filtering gathered intelligence to get the real suspects behind the killings.
Last week, Tanzanian police said they killed four of the assailants during a four-hour fire exchange.
The police officers also seized two sub-machine guns, two magazines and 17 rounds of ammunition from the killed assailants.
President Magufuli said recently that the ongoing insecurity in Coast region could erode investors' confidence and stall the industrialization drive.
