Hundreds of arrests during deadly demonstrations of fuel price

Angola police say four people were killed and 500 were arrested after demonstrations in the capital Luanda.

What started as a three-day strike of taxi drivers against raising gasoline prices has escalated into one of the most common and destructive waves of protest that the country has observed in recent years.

Thousands of people joined demonstrations in the capital on Monday who saw roads blocked, shops plundered, destroyed cars, and collisions between demonstrators and police.

Protest spirits continued in Luanda on Tuesday, along with more clashes with the police and more robbery of shops.

“The problem with the price of fuel is only the last straw that has regained the widespread public discontent … People are eating. Hunger is complete and the poor become unhappy,” said a well -known local activist, Laura Macedo to the BBC.

The strike was summoned by taxi operators in response to the government’s decision to raise the price of diesel by over 33%, a measure introduced in early July as part of plans to remove fuel subsidies in the oil -rich nation.

Not only did this lead to higher tariffs for urban angolars, which rely on taxis, but also increased the cost of basic foods and other foundations – as the suppliers who transport these goods along the way transfer their additional costs to consumers.

But President Joao Lurnsa rejected such concerns, saying that protesters use gasoline prices as a pretext to undermine the government.

“Even after the increase, the price of diesel in Angola remains about 40 US cents (per liter) and there are not many countries in the world with the prices of this low,” he told CNN Portugal in a recent interview.

The average monthly salary in Angola is only 70,000 kwanzas ($ 75; £ 56) and Presidency’s promise to increase that Up to 100,000 kwanzas did not come true.

As the disappointments spilled on Monday, groups of protesters took to the streets in various parts of Luanda, chanting against an increase in fuel prices, nearly five decades of government by the ruling MPLA party and expressing its disappointment with the present state of the country.

The state media in Angola fell under serious social media criticism for continuing their regular programming and failed to cover the demonstrations.

By Monday night, MPLA warned young people not to join the protests and said that these “acts of vandalism were deliberately designed to downplay and interfere with the joyous holiday” of Angola’s 50th Independence.

Local authorities in Luanda on Monday also issued a public statement, expressing “deep concern” about the events they defined as “disturbances and acts of vandalism related to the forced stopping of taxi services”.

According to the statement, originally announced by taxi organizations was canceled after negotiations with the authorities.

However, it states that “groups of unidentified persons, without legal presentation of the taxi sector, resumed the strike for strikes, promoting intimidation and violence, including attacks against vehicles circulating on public roads, even those who do not provide taxi services.”

Many of these protests are spontaneous.

The main taxi association, Anna, is distancing itself from the violence on Monday, but swore to continue the three -day strike, saying that “the voice of taxi drivers reflects a protest of the Angolas.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the main stores, banks and other businesses remained closed. Some civil servants have returned to work, but many people who work for private companies have stayed home on the advice of their employers.

Police warn that they are patrolling the streets and will continue to “interfere where there are still disturbances” to “restore public order and peace”.