Fuel shortages reach critical levels as threat of war looms

Aid agencies in Madagascar on Tuesday said the lack of fuel in the capital had reached a critical stage forcing them to buy on the black market.

The price of fuel has rocketed since supporters of former president Didier Ratsiraka cut off supply lines to the capital in February, starving Antananarivo of fuel and other vital supplies.

In December a litre of petrol cost the Malagasy consumer US $0.46. Today a litre fetches US $2.76, a luxury very few Malagasy can afford.

Aid agencies said the acute shortage of fuel in the capital was hampering the delivery of emergency services to those most in need.

Meanwhile, a delegation sent by President Marc Ravalomanana to hold talks with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade in Dakar about future peace negotiations arrived back in the country on Tuesday. They are expected to brief Ravalomanana about further dialogue aimed at resolving the political stalemate that has snared the island for five months.

Also on Tuesday, General Jules Mamizara, the minister of defence appointed by Ravalomanana, told the French news agency AFP that the army was ready to remove the roadblocks on the Mahajunga highway. The military in Antananarivo was also put on high alert, the L'Express daily paper said.

Last week, the northern town of Mahajunga was the scene of running battles between two of the country's largest ethnic groups. Analysts said that what began as political divisions had developed into ethnic conflict.

One aid worker told IRIN that hundreds of reinforcements were brought in from Tamatave, Ratsiraka's stronghold, to bolster the blockade around Mahajunga.

"The situation in town is tense and full of rumours," the aid worker said.