Police in Malawi have discovered a mass grave with 25 bodies suspected to be Ethiopian migrants who were en route to South Africa.
Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya said the grave was found on Wednesday by a farmer who was collecting wild honey in a forest in Mzimba, about 250 kilometres north of Lilongwe.
“We suspect the deceased were illegal Ethiopian migrants who were in transit to South Africa,” Kalaya told journalists.
Preliminary evidence showed that the victims were Ethiopian males aged between 25 and 40 years, he said.
Kalaya said the decomposing bodies were taken to a morgue for autopsy.
Malawi is a transit route for illegal immigrants from East Africa who are smuggled to South Africa.
Kalaya said 221 illegal immigrants were intercepted by Malawian authorities during the first nine months of this year, with 186 of them being Ethiopians.
JN/APA