Following a murky case of abduction of an albino child, Madagascar gendarmes admitted to killing 19 people when they opened fire on an angry mob attempting to enter their barracks in the southeastern part of the island on Monday.
“Nineteen people were killed, and 21 were injured,” they said in a statement from the hospital in Ikongo, where the incident occurred.
Dr Tango Oscar Toky, the senior doctor at the local hospital, verified the death toll when contacted by AFP on Tuesday.
The gendarmes, who claim that peace has finally returned, published an initial death toll of 11 on Monday.
Since last week, the commune of Ikongo, located in the mountains some 350 kilometers from the capital Antananarivo, has been in shock: an albino youngster has gone missing, and authorities suspect abduction.
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People with albinism are frequently the focus of violence on this huge southern African island, which is often tied to specific beliefs.
According to the United Nations, more than a dozen kidnappings, attacks, and murders have occurred in the last two years.
Following the loss of the infant, four individuals were apprehended and imprisoned at the Ikongo barracks.
However, enraged residents desired to take matters into their own hands.
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On Monday, they went to the gendarmerie barracks and requested that the suspects be handed over to them, according to Jean Brunelle Razafintsiandraofa, a district deputy.
At least 500 people arrived, according to a gendarmerie source on the site, some armed with “white weapons” and “machetes.”
A security cordon was subsequently established, and the gendarmes attempted to de-escalate the situation in order to “prevent a slaughter,” revealed Commander Andry Rakotondrazaka at a press conference on Monday.
He then mentioned “provocations,” as well as those armed with “long-bladed knives and sticks” and stone-throwing. The throng then attempted to breach the security perimeter.
According to the gendarmes, they initially sprayed tear gas and fired warning shots.
“However, as a final resort, they “had no alternative but to resort to self-defense,” the gendarmerie commander added.
“It’s a very terrible situation that could have been avoided, but what happened happened,” he explained.
They “fired on the crowd,” according to Razafintsiandraofa, who claimed he will request a parliamentary investigation.
Civil society often criticizes the Malagasy police force for human rights crimes that are rarely prosecuted.
