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In addition, the brother of a protester informed the journalists present of his death from a gunshot wound, and the military also reported the death of a soldier for the same reason. EFE was able to see the two bodies but could not medically confirm their condition.These figures add to the at least 22 deaths and a hundred people injured that the United Nations reported on September 29th.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Antananarivo this Saturday in a new day of protest, joined by groups of soldiers who, riding in their tanks, accompanied the protesters and encouraged them in the Lake Anosy area, while they gave them “Thank you!” The police used tear gas and ammunition to disperse the crowd.
The scenes of this Saturday occurred hours after a military unit showed its solidarity with the mobilizations that have not ceased since last September 25 despite the strong repression and called on the Army to “not obey the orders to shoot” against the population. “We call on the security forces not to obey orders that go against the protection of the Malagasy people,” said the soldiers of a large military base located in Soanierana, on the outskirts of the capital, in a video released. In the afternoon, the new prime minister, Major General Ruphin Fortunat Zafisambo, appointed last week after the dissolution of the Government by the country’s president, Andry Rajoelina, addressed the soldiers in a live intervention via the social network Facebook and asked them to demonstrate “wisdom”. “All of us, whether military, police or gendarmes, come from the people, so we must listen to their voice and their complaints. However, it is our duty to protect them and ensure the maintenance of order,” he affirmed. Although they initially arose to protest against the constant water and electricity cuts, the mobilizations, driven by young people of Generation Z, have become anti-government and now demand the resignation of President Rajoelina, whose proposal for national dialogue has been rejected by the organizers. Inspired by recent youth mobilizations in countries like Kenya and Nepal, these protests are the worst the Indian Ocean island has seen in years and the biggest challenge facing the head of state since his re-election in 2023. Rajoelina, a 51-year-old former disc jockey, first came to power in a coup in 2009 but resigned in 2014 as leader of the transition authority. He returned to the Presidency after winning the 2018 elections and secured a second term emanating from the ballot boxes in the December 2023 elections, which his rivals denounced as riddled with irregularities.
