In the middle of the protests in Angola that have been going on for a while, at least 18 people have lost their lives. The protests were sparked by the government’s decision to end fuel subsidies in July, and since then, they have spread not only to Luanda but also to Benguela, Huambo, and Huila provinces.
Some of the activities that the demonstrators have been engaged in are road blockades and the setting of tires on fire.
Throughout the areas that have been affected, demonstrators have had confrontations with security forces. As a result, major urban centers have been largely paralyzed.
Hospitals are under a lot of pressure, for example, the main hospital of Benguela received six dead people in one night and that was the peak of the unrest when the hospital had to treat a lot of injured people.
The government, as part of its economic restructuring plans, cut fuel subsidies and justified the policy as necessary for redirecting the money to infrastructure and education. Nevertheless, transportation and food prices have gone up so much since the removal that the anger of the people has become very visible.
According to local eyewitnesses and activist groups, police are shooting live bullets at rioters, although law enforcement officials discredit the allegation of the use of brute force and claim the police have acted within the parameters of the law.
They also assert that the officials causing the violence are using the citizens’ demands as a cover to commit crimes. At the same time, the authorities are asking for investigations while the opposition is demanding impartial ones.
This uprising is an indication of the deeply-rooted economic issues faced by the people of Angola as a result of the continual increase in the cost of living and the unemployment rate that has gone up.
The urban inhabitants who rely on public transport for their daily commute are the ones who have suffered most from the rising fuel prices, and this has led to the existing social tensions being amplified.
According to the government, there is no chance of the policy being reversed even though demonstrations are still going on. Medical staff say that they are not given enough resources to deal with trauma cases while the authorities have not revealed the number of those who have been detained, which is fueling public distrust as protests are happening in several provinces.
