No fewer
than 33 hoodlums have been reported killed by security forces and locals in
Ihorombe region of Madagascar on Tuesday.
The bandits
are part of the about 40 armed thieves who drove away 200 heads of cattle
belonging to the local communities.
The security
operatives and the local communities engaged the cattle rustlers in a clash
that lasted for hours leading to the killing of 33.
Banditry
remains a major security concern in several parts of Madagascar.
According to
Africa Review, various media have reported an increase in the criminal
activities of well-armed groups of young men, known as dahalo or malaso
(‘bandits’ in Malagasy).
The groups
have lately started to combine their ‘traditional’ cattle raidings with attacks
on hotels, private houses, trucks and taxi brousse (bush taxis).
The issue of
banditry has become the testing ground for all recent governments, which have
tried – with little success – to reinforce their presence in regions where they
have never been able to exert full political control.
Former mayor
Fanomezantsoa Hariniaina lamented the rise in banditry, saying it was driving
huge populations into the urban areas.
People were
deserting their villages to avoid getting into trouble with bandits, Mr Hariniaina
said.
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