ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Madagascar’s defense minister resigned in protest Monday after security forces fired on anti-government demonstrators over the weekend, killing at least 25 people.
In a statement Monday, she said her upbringing and faith could not allow her to accept “that the blood of my countrymen be spilled.”
The island off the east coast of Africa has been shaken in recent weeks by a political struggle between President Marc Ravalomanana and opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, who was ousted as the mayor of the capital shortly after he told a rally he was in charge of the country.
Police fired on thousands of Rajoelina’s supporters Saturday when a protest that started at a central square where he regularly leads rallies turned violent outside a presidential palace that he said belonged to the city. Rajoelina was not with the protesters at the time.
