Cattle rustlers have killed at least 32 people in Madagascar, setting homes on fire in a town north of the capital, Antananarivo, and the Malagasy president promised on Sunday that the culprits would be punished for this “massacre”.
“We must find the perpetrators of this massacre and condemn them in accordance with the current law,” President Andry Rajoelina said in a message. “The Malagasy army assumes all its responsibilities to come to the rescue of the population and locate the thugs,” he added.
According to police, 32 people were killed and three wounded during an attack by a gang of about 12 bandits in the village of Ambolotarakely, in the commune of Ankazobé, some 75 kilometers north of the capital, on Friday.
Deployed Army Helicopters
Army helicopters have been deployed to locate the suspects and help ground troops search the Ankazobé area, police said.
The assailants, cattle rustlers, known locally as dahalos, herded the victims inside three houses before setting them on fire, police said. The three injured were in intensive care at a local hospital.
Located on a small hill, the village of Ambolotarakely is made up of a dozen houses with thatched roofs. Television images showed all three houses completely burned, with only parts of the walls still standing.
Chronic insecurity issues
An island in the Indian Ocean, Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world with chronic problems of insecurity, particularly cattle rustling.
In February 2016, twelve thieves and one villager were killed during clashes between gendarmes, villagers and Zebu thieves near the tourist area of Isalo, in southwestern Madagascar.
This violence followed the theft of 400 zebu in a neighboring village by dozens of Dahalos armed with Kalashnikovs and hunting rifles.
Cattle rustling in Madagascar, originally a cultural tradition in which young men displayed their manhood, has turned into a bloody conflict for several years.
Source: BFM TV
