Article published on the 2009-03-05 Latest update 2009-03-05 15:00 TU
Former Antananarivo mayor, Andry Rajoelina (l) and President Marc Ravalomanana
(Photos: AFP & flickr)
Two people were shot dead Wednesday in the town of Ambositra, some 200 kilometres south of the capital, when police dispersed protests that had been going on for three days in front of the residence of the region’s head.
Three security officers and six other protesters were injured.
Some 100 people have been killed in the violent anti-government protests that have shaken the country since 26 January.
President Marc Ravalomanana pledged on Wednesday to bring stability to Madagascar. His main rival, former Antananarivo mayor Andry Rajoelina, has accused the President of running a dictatorship while the people starve.
Rajoelina has built popular support over the past few weeks, inciting people to action by citing widespread poverty on the island and human rights violations.
Earlier this month Rajoelina staged a nationwide general strike which was not well attended, which initially seemed to be a blow to his power.
"It has been a power struggle over the past few weeks,” said Stephen Ellis, a Madagascar specialist at the Free University in Amsterdam. “I was just a little surprised by this general strike call because although the [former] mayor has support, he had rather overplayed his hand by basically saying that he should be president and the actual elected President should be discounted.”
Rajolina walked out on talks with Ravalomanana last week. The African Union and the United Nations have been trying to broker talks to resolve the current issues.