Angola police disperse taxi drivers protesting gas prices in Huambo

Police broke up this Monday a demonstration by taxi drivers and motorcycle taxi drivers in Huambo province in Angola, who were protesting the rise in the price of gasoline and the absence of cards promised by the state to subsidize fuel for this class.

Speaking to the Lusa news agency, national police spokesman in Huambo, Quartermaster Martino Cavita, said the riots began shortly before 7:00 am this Monday, when two classes of carriers blocked roads, set tires on fire and threw stones at the roadway. main access routes.

“The situation is under control, we still have outbreaks, when some motorcycle taxi drivers and some people who also take advantage of the situation barricaded the roads, put tires on the road to burn, but in general the situation is calmer,” said the person in charge.

According to Martinho Cavita, the rapid reaction police had to be called “in order to restore order in the city”, noting that many buildings were pelted with stones.

Martino Cavita confirmed the arrest of demonstrators, without specifying the number, the confiscation of cars and motorcycles, and property damage to public and private property, without confirming reports of deaths and injuries.

“There are reports of damage to public and private property, we think that by the end of the day we will be able to better assess what was really damaged,” he stressed.

In some of the videos that are circulating on social media, we see rapid response police on the streets, at least one bloody man on the ground, and several gunshots.

A police spokesman for Huambo stressed that riots were reported throughout the city of Huambo, including the municipality of Cala.

“National roads 120 towards Huambo/Caala and 260 towards Caala/Huambo were also barricaded, the tires on this road were burned, the bridge was filled with stones to prevent the passage of vehicles,” he said.

According to Martino Cavita, “It’s not just the motorcycle taxi drivers that are affected, because, in fact, the confusion arises from the fact that part of the class wanted to perform, and the other part did not want to, and they started attacking each other.”

“Those who did not want to work understood that they had to interfere with others to work, so this caused an uproar and forced intervention by the police,” he said, noting that peripheral areas of the city and main exits were affected.

“For those who travel to Chipipu, Caala, Cambiote, basically, and for those who travel to the center of Lossambo,” he added.

Prime Minister António Costa is in Angola on a two-day state visit.

Since last Friday, the Angolan government has begun phasing out the fuel subsidy, starting with gasoline, which has risen from 160 kwanza per liter to 300 kwanza per liter, without affecting public transport, namely taxi drivers, motorbike taxi drivers, buses and handicrafts. fishing boats.

The issuance of name cards with a daily allowance of 7,000 kwanza was a mechanism established by the state to serve only licensed members of this class.

The police sent a data update for later.