Eight people alleged to be vampires have reportedly been
killed by an angry mob who accused them of entering people’s houses to
suck blood.
Police on Friday confirmed that eight people accused of being “vampires’’ were killed by angry mob in Malawi.
Police Spokesperson Ramsey Mushani told dpa on Friday that the
killings, which took place in Malawi’s south, are based on the belief
that “vampires’’ dressed in black enter the homes of sleeping residents to suck their blood.
Mushani said the latest killing occurred on Thursday in the
southern city of Blantyre when a group of angry residents accused an
epileptic man of being a vampire and then killed him,
The spokesperson said thirty-one people have been arrested on charges of murder, assault and arson due to the mob killings.
UN and the U.S. embassy in Malawi issued warnings to foreigners visiting southern Malawi.
Myths and superstitions are deeply entrenched in the nation of 17
million people where almost 40 per cent of adults are illiterate,
according to the UN.
NAN reports that no fewer than 100 riot officers were drafted into
the region in response to the killings, but terrified armed mobs
continued hunting for ‘vampires’ on the streets and set-up road blocks.
-NAN
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