Madagascar's opposition leader Andry Rajoelina said Sunday that there would be no let-up in his anti-government campaign, a day after security forces opened fire at his supporters and killed 28 of them.
The sacked Antananarivo mayor blamed his rival, President Marc Ravalomanana, for the shooting on Saturday as protesters attempted to march to the president's office in the capital. "I tell the people that their lives, their blood was lost. (But) we cannot stop. The struggle continues," said Rajoelina at a hospital in the capital where he visited the wounded.
"The people need change. What is the Ravalomanana's answer? Shots," he said, announcing that Monday will be a national day of mourning. National police force spokesman Captain Lala Rakotonirina said 28 people were killed and 212 others wounded, mostly by gunfire, a hopsital official said.
"This is inadmissible... inconceivable that Madagascans are shooting other Madagascans," Rajoelina said. Tension hung over the capital as residents searched for their relatives and friends in hospitals and morgues.