Hundreds of arrests during the deadly demonstrations that rise in fuel

Police in Angola says four people were killed and 500 were arrested after demonstrations in the capital, Luanda.

What started as a three -day strike by taxi drivers against the high prices of gasoline has escalated to one of the most widespread and uniform protest waves in recent years.

Thousands of people joined demonstrations in the capital on Monday, which witnessed the ban on roads, looted stores, and destroyed cars as well as clashes between demonstrators and the police.

The pockets of the protests in Luanda continued on Tuesday, along with more clashes with the police and more looting of stores.

“The issue of fuel prices is just the last straw that has sparked her public discontentment on a large scale … people are tired. Hunger is widespread, and the poor have become miserable,” said Laura Makedo, a prominent local activist, a prominent local activist, BBC.

The strike was called by taxi operators in response to the government’s decision to raise the price of diesel by more than 33 %, a procedure that was provided in early July as part of plans to remove fuel subsidies in the oil -rich country.

It was not only the high prices of Angolan, urban areas who rely on taxis, but also raised the price of basic foods and other basics – as suppliers who transport these goods via the road passing through their additional costs to consumers.

But President Joao Loreno rejected such concerns, saying that the demonstrators use gasoline prices as an excuse to undermine the government.

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

The average monthly wage in Angola is only 70,000 quanza ($ 75; 56 pounds), and A promise from the presidency to increase this To 100,000 Quanza has not been achieved.

With frustration on Monday, groups of demonstrators moved to the streets in different parts of Luanda, chanting against increasing fuel prices, nearly five decades of governance by the ruling MPLA and expressing their frustration with the current situation of the country.

The state -run media in Angola has been criticized for social media to continue regular programming and their failure to cover the demonstrations.

By Monday evening, MPLA warned young people against joining the protests and said that “these sabotage work deliberately aims to distort and enhance the happy celebration” of the fiftieth anniversary of independence in Angola.

On Monday, local authorities in Luanda issued a public statement expressing “deep concern” about the events, which they described as “disturbances and sabotage related to the forced stop of taxi services.”

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

However, he said, “groups of unknown individuals, without any legal representation of the taxi sector, have resumed an invitation to take strike measures and promote intimidation and violence, including attacks on vehicles circulating on public roads, even those who do not provide taxi services.”

Many of these protests were spontaneous in nature.

The main taxi association, Anata, distanced from violence on Monday, but pledged to continue the strike for three days, saying, “The voice of taxi drivers reflects the struggle of the Angolan people.”

From Tuesday noon, major stores, banks and other companies remained closed. Some civil service employees have returned to work, but many people who work for private companies have been at home based on the advice of their employers.

The police warn that they are periodically in the streets and will continue to “intervene where there are still disturbances” in order to “re -establish public order and peace.”