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Police shoot dead 14 people and wound 28 in Madagascar as they open fire on crowd protesting the kidnapping of an albino child
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Police in Madagascar have shot dead at least 14 people and wounded 28 others after opening fire on a crowd of protesters angered at the kidnapping of an albino child.
Angry villagers were calling for the heads of the four suspects arrested last week over the kidnap in the southeastern town of Ikongo.
When they tried to storm the police station, officers opened fire, striking dozens.
‘The gendarmes… fired on the crowd,’ local lawmaker Jean-Brunelle Razafintsiandraofa in the southeastern town of Ikongo told AFP.
Local doctor Tango Oscar Toky said ‘nine people died on the spot’ and another five died later in hospital.
People with albinism are considered to have mystical powers by many in Madagascar.
Because of the superstition, their body parts can be sold for thousands of dollars and they are often targeted in ritual killings.
Some believe that having sex with an albino woman can also cure AIDS.