A clash in the South makes forty casualties and some thousands of displaced persons

The Dahalo resume marauding through the southern regions of Madagascar. In the immediate vicinity of Ihosy, the local population supported by state policemen clashed with rogue dahalo raiders. 40 people were brought down as a result, a majority of them used to swear allegiance to the foe. This dahalo gang was conducting a campaign of its own for a while, and had so far been capturing hundreds of zebus from several villages of the Ihorombe region, largely unopposed. Scores of Madagascar’ southern villagers usually have to bear repeated onslaughts from hundreds of dahalo raiders, at a time. They are greedy for cattle first and foremost, but do not often waste the opportunity to take away what they want when they can. Raids of this kind have significantly lessened in number over the latest months. Its over now. Time for plunder seems to have come again. In the Amboasary district, people were spotted fleeing the dreaded Dahalo by thousands. Cattle theft as a whole has never been decisively dealt with over the Great Isle. The year 2009’s putsch and its entailed economic downturn nearly brought the affected areas to the brink of an armed insurrection. Over the latest years, raiding parties are often composed with hundreds of men armed with AK-47 type assault rifles, massively overrunning villages. The dahalo scourge mostly befalls Madagascar’ southern lands because of its large dedication to breeding cattle. Roaming flocks are besides lightly defended, therefore easy game for raiders. The resumption of such violence is likely to make matters more complicated than they already are to the new ruling power. The Republic’s President Hery Rajaonarimampianina, who came in charge in January, and his Prime Minister Kolo Roger, who has freshly created his government, might have not expected to have to deal with such a problematic issue as so early.