Protests triggered by a steep rise in fuel prices have left 22 people dead and 197 injured in Angola, Interior Minister Manuel Homem said Wednesday after a Council of Ministers session, state news agency Angop reported.
A police officer was among those killed as violence erupted in the capital Luanda and spread to other areas. Authorities said 1,214 people have been arrested for alleged involvement in rioting, looting, and attacks on security forces.
Police spokesman Mateus Rodrigues condemned the unrest:
“The acts recorded in Luanda cannot in any way be understood or treated as demonstrations.”
The clashes began Monday after taxi and minibus associations raised fares by 50% and launched a three-day strike in protest at the government’s decision to increase diesel prices by one-third as part of its ongoing fuel subsidy cuts.
Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, has been phasing out subsidies since 2023—a policy backed by the IMF—that has repeatedly sparked violent protests.