Madagascar’s president has said he will dissolve his government, following days of youth-led protests over longstanding water and power cuts.
“We acknowledge and apologise if members of the government have not carried out the tasks assigned to them,” Andry Rajoelina said in a televised national address on Monday.
The so-called Gen-Z protests have seen thousands of predominantly young demonstrators take to the streets in cities across Madagascar since Thursday, under the rallying cry: “We want to live, not survive”.
The UN’s human rights chief condemned the “unnecessary force” used by security forces to quell the unrest, saying that at least 22 people have been killed and 100 others injured.
Madagascar’s foreign ministry has rejected the UN’s figures, alleging the data is “based on rumours or misinformation”.
Protests first started in the capital Antananarivo, but have since spread to eight cities across the country.
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A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed in Antananarivo after reports of violence and looting, with police firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds.
UNCHR head Volker Türk said he was “shocked” by the security forces’ violent crackdown that he said also saw arrests, beatings, and live bullets used against demonstrators.
“I urge the security forces to desist from the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force and to immediately release all arbitrarily detained protesters,” Türk said in a statement on Monday.
According to the UN, the dead “include protesters and bystanders killed by members of the security forces, but also others killed in subsequent widespread violence and looting by individuals and gangs not associated with the protesters”.
