Madagascar—At least five killed as demonstrations over blackouts and water shortages shake Antananarivo, which led to the sack of the Power Minister.
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has dismissed his energy minister following days of unrest over crippling power cuts and water shortages that have left the capital on edge and claimed at least five lives.
The announcement came Friday, just 24 hours after police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up crowds in Antananarivo, where protesters had set fire to shops, banks, and government supporters’ homes. Authorities imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew to contain the violence, which has rattled one of the world’s poorest nations.
Rajoelina, who returned from New York after attending the UN General Assembly, said the minister had “not done his job” but condemned what he called “pillaging and violence.” In his first public comments since the unrest, he accused organizers of attempting “destabilization in the form of a coup d’état.”
Protest organizers, however, distanced themselves from Thursday’s destruction and urged residents to turn out for a “peaceful demonstration” on Saturday morning at the University of Antananarivo. Calls for renewed protests have sparked fears of more clashes, with the British embassy warning that disorder “may spread to other parts of Madagascar.”
Read Also: WHO Supports Madagascar’s Cure After Bribery Claims
Anger has been building for months as households and businesses face electricity blackouts lasting over 12 hours a day, along with chronic water shortages. Madagascar, the world’s top producer of vanilla, struggles with high poverty levels and limited infrastructure, leaving basic services unreliable.
On Friday, shocked residents surveyed damage in the capital. A cable car station—one of the government’s flagship projects—lay charred. “Maybe they were frustrated. Maybe they were sent to break things. They’re already poor and have nothing,” one young activist told AFP while helping clean up a looted bookstore.
Security forces extended nighttime curfews to four other cities—Antsiranana, Majunga, Toliara, and Antsirabe—where tension is rising. Hundreds of students in Antsiranana reportedly marched with the body of a slain demonstrator on Friday, images of which spread rapidly on social media.
Rajoelina, 51, is serving his third term after a contested election last year that saw low turnout and an opposition boycott. He first took power in 2009 following a coup that ousted then-president Marc Ravalomanana, before returning through elections in 2018.
Authorities have vowed to restore order, but with fresh protests planned for the weekend, Madagascar remains braced for further unrest.
