Following the discovery of a mass grave in which 25 bodies were found, Malawi police have arrested 72 Ethiopian men who were found hiding in a forest reserve in the northern border town of Karonga. Ten Malawians have also been arrested on suspicion of being part of a syndicate involved in trafficking the Ethiopians. On Wednesday, a mass grave was discovered in a government forest reserve in Mzimba district, some 300 km (185 miles) south of where the Ethiopian men were arrested on Thursday.
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Young boys from the area are said to have gone into the forest reserve to harvest honey when they were first greeted by the pungent smell of rotting bodies before they discovered body parts including heads and limbs. The boys reported the matter to village elders who in turn notified the police who went to the forest and discovered the mass grave. On Thursday morning, a separate grave near the one found on Wednesday was also discovered, where another four bodies were unearthed.
Homeland Security Minister Jean Sendeza, who has travelled to the scene of the mass graves, says authorities plan to conduct a post-mortem to ascertain the causes of death. Human trafficking has become a huge challenge in Malawi, where hundreds of people are regularly arrested and deported for illegally entering the country with the help of organised syndicates. Last April, up to 140 illegal immigrants were arrested by Malawi police. They included 133 Ethiopian nationals, six from Bangladesh and one from Pakistan. They are yet to face trial. Police say the 72 Ethiopians and 10 Malawians arrested on Thursday will soon be taken to court to answer various charges connected to human trafficking and violation of immigration laws.
