Four killed, hundreds arrested in Angola fuel price protests

Four people were killed when violence broke out in the Angolan capital Monday as the taxi industry began a strike over rising fuel prices, police said.

There was widespread looting in Luanda on the first day of the strike, the latest in a series of protests against the July 1 fuel hike, with protesters also attacking public buses and private vehicles.

"In terms of consequences, we currently report four deaths," Deputy Commissioner Mateus Rodrigues told reporters Tuesday, without specifying how they occurred.

Police rounded up 400 people overnight for suspected involvement in the violence after arresting 100 on Monday, the police spokesman said.

Shops vandalised

About 45 shops were vandalised and 25 private vehicles and 20 public buses were damaged, he said.

AFP photographs on Monday showed people running off with items looted from shops while images posted on social media showed large crowds of protesters and, separately, police pushing back demonstrators.

The Angolan government raised the price of subsidised gasoline prices from 300 to 400 kwanzas ($0.33 to $0.43) a litre on July 1.

Around 2,000 people demonstrated against the fuel hike on Saturday, with protests also held the previous two weekends.

Strike to continue

The ANATA taxi association distanced itself from Monday's violence but said the three-day strike would continue.

It "has become clear that the voice of the taxi drivers reflects the outcry of the Angolan people," the association said in a statement.

Police were monitoring for further unrest, the police spokesman said.

"We continue to stress that our forces are on the streets, equipped with the necessary resources based on the threat level, responding where order has been restored to maintain it, and intervening where there are still disturbances to reestablish public order and peace," he said.