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Two teens killed in grenade attack on independence day

Published

8 years ago

June 27, 2016

Two teens killed in grenade attack on independence day

Madagascar’s national day turned bloody as a grenade explosion killed two teenagers and wounded over 80 people in an incident described by the country president as an “act of terrorism”.

Reports say the blast occurred at the Mahamasina municipal stadium in Antananarivo around 16:00GMT, as fun seekers gathered at a free concert which was taking place to mark the nation’s 56th anniversary of independence from France.

The President of the Indian Ocean Island Hery Rajaonarimampianina, who visited the injured victims in hospital, blamed the attack on tensions with political opponents in the Indian Ocean island nation.

“There may be differences of opinion between us, but these acts of destabilisation are unacceptable,” he said in a statement broadcast on national television, describing the attack as “not just a destabilising act but an act of terrorism”.

Pleading for calm, he added: “We will not respond to violence with violence.”

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