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Olympic torch arrives in Africa
23/04/2008 12:21 - (SA)
Dar es Salaam - The Olympic torch, symbol of this year's 2008 Games in Beijing, arrived in the Tanzanian capital under tight security on Saturday for a low-risk, albeit drastically curtailed African leg.
The flame arrived from Buenos Aires and was received at the city's Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport by Dar es Salaam mayor Adam Kimbisa.
While no known pro-Tibet rallies were planned in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, the planned 25km torch relay was shrunk to a two-hour 5km trail in the streets of the Tanzanian commercial capital.
Authorities in this city on the shores of the Indian Ocean have nevertheless vowed to boost security along the relay road.
Kimbisa, the chief host, said the Sunday relay had been downsized "because there's a lot of rain" in the east African nation.
"Of course there could be two or three madmen who would seek to disrupt the relay," he admitted, speaking to AFP on Friday.
" (But)I would like to assure members of the public that there is no need to worry. We are in charge and we shall ensure that the Olympic torch relay in Tanzania is a success," said Kimbisa in a statement.
Security will be deployed along the relay route, said Dar es Salaam police chief Alfred Tibaigana.
- AFP
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