Youth protests escalate in Madagascar despite government dismissal

Youth-led protests over power and water outages in Madagascar intensified on Tuesday despite President Andry Rajoelina's move to dismiss the government a day earlier.

Thousands gathered again in the capital Antananarivo, including not only young professionals but, for the first time, large numbers of residents from working-class districts.

Security forces fired tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and blanks to disperse crowds, and clashes grew particularly violent by early evening, a dpa reporter on the scene witnessed.

The demonstrations began peacefully in the capital last Thursday and have since spread to other cities. Organizers denied involvement in looting and violence that broke out on the sidelines.

Security forces cracked down hard, allegedly using live ammunition.

The United Nations said on Monday that at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured, figures the government rejected.

The movement is driven by educated youth between 18 and 28, who stress they have no leaders. They accuse the government of mismanagement and corruption, citing as inspiration the Gen Z protests in Nepal that forced the prime minister to resign in early September.

Rajoelina’s dismissal of his government has failed to appease demonstrators, who demand his resignation.

"This is a deception. The apple is rotten, and the system will not change if you polish it up with new faces,’ a demonstrator in Antananarivo told dpa of Rajoelina's government shake-up.

Madagascar, an island nation of 32 million off Africa’s east coast, has seen poverty deepen and electricity and water supplies worsen since Rajoelina took office in 2019. Despite an opposition boycott and protests that were crushed, Rajoelina was re-elected in 2023.