The police in Tanzania ha said that 10 children who were kidnapped by gunmen have been found dead with their body parts mutilated.
The children, some as young as seven, were kidnapped from their homes in December 2018, CNN reports.
Tanzania’s deputy health minister, Faustine Ndugulile, had said that all 10 children were kidnapped in Njombe district, southwest Tanzania.
“Their bodies were discovered last week after police launched a search operation in the area.
“So far, we have found 10 bodies, and most of their private parts and teeth had been removed.
“These murders are linked to witchcraft practices because that is the trend for such crimes, where herbalists ask people to get these human parts for money rituals.
“We want to identify the perpetrators, but our focus is to educate the traditional practitioners in the area quickly and those in surrounding communities on the need to stop these acts,” Ndugulile told CNN.
The deputy health minister also said that many children have been reported missing by their parents in the community since December and that the ministry was investigating the cases.
Ndugulile, however, denied that the killings were linked to albino ritual murders which are prevalent in Tanzania and other parts of East Africa.
