At least 32 people were killed Madagascar in an area north of the capital on Friday after local bandits called “dahalo“burn the house, according to the statement of Department of Defense. The murder happened in the Ankazobe district, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) north of the capital, Antananarivo, from Friday night. “The people here have experienced a real tragedy, many lives have been lost. 32 people died.

It is a crime committed by the ruthless dahalos, burning both women and children alive,” the defense minister said. speak. Richard Rakotonirina said in a video posted on the ministry’s Facebook page late Saturday. The “Dahalo” are organized crime gangs in parts of Madagascar, which specialize in stealing livestock from community members and staging other forms of robbery. “We will hunt down the perpetrators of this crime and their accomplices.

Rakotonirina added that security forces have been deployed to the area to track down the perpetrators. He added the attack on the area was likely due to “dahalo” retaliation against community members for providing information to security personnel during previous operations against them.