Overview

• About 1,000 people marched in Antananarivo on Thursday as security forces used tear gas, rubber bullets, stun grenades and armoured vehicles, leading to injuries and arrests.
• Tear gas reached a maternity facility, forcing staff to move premature babies, with at least six people reported injured by projectiles, according to AFP and local medical groups.
• Gen Z Madagascar called a general strike and rejected the president’s invitation to talks after two weeks of near-daily demonstrations.
• President Andry Rajoelina dismissed his cabinet and on October 6 appointed military general Ruphin Fortunat Zafisambo as prime minister, drawing a warning from more than 200 civil groups about a "military drift" in governance.
• The UN earlier reported at least 22 deaths in the unrest, a figure Rajoelina disputes as 12, while lawyers say 28 protesters have been referred for charges and five are in pre-trial detention at Tsiafahy prison.