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ANTANANARIVO: Hundreds of mostly young protesters faced off against security forces in Madagascar’s capital Saturday days after an anti-government demonstration erupted into clashes and looting.
Police used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse crowds at Thursday’s protest, which was called to condemn persistent water and power cuts in the impoverished nation but descended into violence as stores were looted and buildings and cars set alight.
Demonstrators including university students gathered again in Antananarivo Saturday, holding placards with slogans that included, “We are poor, angry and unhappy” and “Madagascar is ours.”
Mostly dressed in black and with their faces covered, some wore the colored straw hats that have become a symbol of defiance.
A wall of security forces prevented protesters from marching toward the city center and there were reports that police used tear gas to disperse them.
An unidentified hospital source said five people were killed in Thursday’s violence, but no official has released a confirmed toll.
In a video address late Friday, President Andry Rajoelina said that in response to the protest he had sacked his energy minister “for not doing his job.” He also condemned the violence as “acts of destabilization.”
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) grouping said Saturday it was concerned about “an unconfirmed number of fatalities, injuries, and extensive damage to both public and private property.”
The 16-nation SADC, of which Rajoelina is the current chairperson, commended in its statement “the government’s steadfast commitment to restoring peace and stability.”
The African Union called for restraint, calm and dialogue.

FRANKFURT: German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Saturday that the threat from drones was “high” and that the country would take measures to defend itself.
Officials in Europe have been on high alert after drone incursions in Denmark shut down air traffic in various parts of the country several times over the past week. Authorities are also investigating sightings in Germany.
“There is a threat that can be classified as high when it comes to drones. It is an abstract threat, but very concrete in individual cases,” Dobrindt told journalists in Berlin.
Among the measures, Germany will look to revise an aviation security law to allow the nation’s armed forces to get involved to possibly shoot down drones, he said.
“It’s about being prepared so that critical infrastructure or large gatherings of people, for example, can be protected,” he said.