MAPUTO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Bush fires killed 32 people in central Mozambique this week, destroyed houses and made thousands homeless, a relief agency said on Friday.

The director of Mozambique's National Disaster Management Institute (INGC), Joao Ribeiro, said the fires were driven by strong winds and fuelled by high air temperatures and dry grass.

"People died because they could not run away," Ribeiro said.

The fires on Monday and Tuesday burned down 722 houses, making 2,805 people homeless, and destroyed 16,000 hectares of agricultural land.

Ribeiro said his agency provided victims with food, tents and other basic goods. (Reporting by Charles Mangwiro'; Writing by Phakamisa Ndzamela; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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