At least 11 people were killed when gendarmes opened fire on enraged residents in Madagascar on Monday, August 29, in a murky kidnapping case, according to a gendarmerie and AFP medical source.

“People (…) opened fire on the crowd”, declared Jean Brunel Razafintsiandrafa, deputy head of the Ikongo (East) district where the incident took place. The head doctor of the facility where the victims were taken, Tango Oscar Doki, said by phone that “nine people died on the spot” and 33 were injured, including 5 who died once in hospital – making a total of 14 dead. But the gendarmes gave them a low toll, 11 dead and 18 wounded.

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Around 10am, shots rang out in Ikongo. Since last week, the small town has been in shock: a child, an albino, has gone missing and the authorities suspect abduction. On the Indian Ocean’s largest island, people with albinism continue to be targets of violence. According to the United Nations, more than ten abductions, attacks and killings have been reported in the past two years. 4 people were arrested by the police on suspicion. But people are determined to take justice into their own hands.

Malagasy police continued to make arrests

In the morning, they went to the gendarmerie barracks and asked them to hand over the four suspects, said Jean Brunel Razafintsiandrafa. According to a source from the gendarmerie to AFP, at least 500 people disembarked, some “Cold steel“and”Knives“. “Then, the villagers held talks“The source said. The gendarmes then decided to throw smoke bombs to disperse the crowd and fired some guns in the air.

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But residents continued to try to enter barracks. “We have no choice but to defend ourselves…The same source said. The Malagasy police continue to be singled out by civil society for human rights violations that are rarely prosecuted.

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