By ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, Sept 26 (AfrikTimes) – Authorities in Madagascar on Thursday imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the capital, after protests over frequent power outages and water shortages turned violent, according to a top security official.
Police fired teargas to disperse thousands of mostly youth protesters who were marching and carrying placards, in Antananarivo, the capital, according to our witness. The demonstrators were denouncing the government and demanding restoration of reliable water and electricity across the country.
“There are unfortunately individuals taking advantage of the situation to destroy other people’s property,” General Angelo Ravelonarivo, who heads a joint security body that includes the police and the military, said in a statement he read on privately owned Real TV late on Thursday.
To protect “the population and their belongings,” the security forces decided to impose a curfew from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. “until public order is restored,” the statement said.
Protesters erect a barricade during a demonstration to denounce frequent power outages and water shortages in Antananarivo, Madagascar September 25, 2025.
Madagascar, an Indian Ocean island nation plagued by poverty, has seen rising frustration with President Andry Rajoelina’s government, which critics accuse of failing to improve living conditions since his re-election in 2023.
During the protests earlier on Thursday, a large shopping mall in the capital was looted and then burned, and the homes of two lawmakers were looted and vandalised, according to the AfrikTimes witness.
The protesters, who defied an earlier police ban on the demonstration, marched while chanting, “We need water, we need electricity.” After the protests were dispersed, they later spread into various neighbourhoods of the capital.
A protester pushes a riot police officer’s shield during a demonstration to denounce frequent power outages and water shortages in Antananarivo, Madagascar September 25, 2025.
On Wednesday, the national police chief, Jean Herbert Andriantahiana Rakotomalala, warned that security forces would “take firm preventive…measures against those tempted to break the law.”
A spokesperson for the security forces, Zafisambatra Ravoavy, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Protesters walk during a demonstration to denounce frequent power outages and water shortages in Antananarivo, Madagascar September 25, 2025.
Reporting by Adebukola Adeagbo, Lova Rabary; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Leslie Adler
