ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) -Police in Madagascar’s capital fired teargas on Monday at thousands of people who returned to the streets for a third round of youth-led protests against water and power cuts, with many calling for the government’s resignation.
Inspired by the so-called “Gen Z” protests in Kenya and Nepal, the demonstrations are the largest the Indian Ocean island has seen in years, and the most serious challenge President Andry Rajoelina has faced since his re-election in 2023.
Authorities declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Thursday after protests in the capital Antananarivo turned violent.
Protesters on Monday gathered at a university in Antananarivo where they waved placards and sang the national anthem before attempting to march through town, footage from 2424.MG news channel showed.
In another part of town, police cleared rocks and telephone poles that protesters had used to barricade roads, and fired teargas to disperse the crowd, footage broadcast on Real TV showed.
Many in the crowd called for the resignation of Prime Minister Christian Ntsay, his government, and Rajoelina.
The latest protests come after Rajoelina said on Sunday he would thoroughly review and reform the governance in the country.
“If there have been mistakes, I recognise them, and I am now looking for ways to correct everything,” he said in a speech in the Anosibe neighbourhood of Antananarivo, where some looting and vandalism took place on Friday.
The protesters have adapted a flag used in Nepal where protesters forced the prime minister to resign this month and have also used similar online organisation tactics as protests in Kenya last year that culminated in the government scrapping proposed tax legislation.
(Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Aaron Ross, Hereward Holland and Alison Williams)
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