Fuel price hike sparks deadly unrest in Angola

The government has cut subsidies, reportedly in response to IMF advice to increase public spending on health and education

At least 22 people, including a police officer, were killed and nearly 200 others injured during violent protests in Angola this week over a fuel price hike, according to the southern African nation’s interior minister, Manuel Homem.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a council of ministers meeting on Wednesday, the official said 1,214 protesters had been arrested for “acts of vandalism and looting.” Homem reported that 66 stores and 25 vehicles were vandalized across the country, while banks, major supermarkets, and wholesale and retail warehouses were looted.

The violence broke out earlier this week after minibus taxi associations began a three-day strike opposing the government’s decision to increase diesel prices by one-third, a move aimed at cutting costly subsidies and strengthening public finances.

Protesters took to the streets in the capital, Luanda, with sporadic gunfire reportedly heard across the city on Monday and Tuesday. Clashes between demonstrators and security forces were also reported in the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, and Huila.

“The acts carried out by the protesters, worsened by the presence of infiltrators with criminal intentions, show that the phenomenon has gone beyond a mere demand and now represents a threat to public order,” the Angolan presidency said in a post on Facebook on Wednesday.

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Interior Minister Homem warned that while demonstrations are permitted by law, any descent into vandalism will be met with a firm and appropriate response.

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Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer after Nigeria, has been gradually phasing out fuel subsidies since 2023, when a gasoline price increase sparked deadly protests, according to Reuters. The government’s move is said to be in response to recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to direct more public funds toward health and education.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu tried a similar move in his country in 2023, scrapping fuel subsidies shortly after taking office as part of reforms to reduce the budget deficit, triggered widespread protests amid a worsening cost-of-living crisis. The West African country’s labor union has blamed the loan policies of the IMF and the World Bank for deepening the nation’s economic troubles.