Shantytown tense after two killed in riot

Armed police patrolled a tense Luanda shantytown on Monday, a day after two residents were shot dead during a riot by local people defying an official order to move out of their homes, AP reported. The clashes erupted on Sunday when heavily armed riot police attempted to forcibly remove thousands of people from their mud-brick huts because the area is susceptible to landslides.

Groups of youngsters threw rocks at the police and erected barricades along the filthy shantytown’s alleyways. At least 18 people were reported injured. Police said they came under gunfire during the riot and returned fire, killing two men who were not identified. Local people disputed the police claims, alleging police shot at unarmed rioters. More than 40,000 people are believed to live in the vast shantytown called Boavista, including many who fled the countryside due to the civil war.

Part of the shantytown lies on an escarpment which occasionally gives way during the rainy season. The provincial government wants to rehouse the people in Viana, a suburb almost 30 km outside the city. Locals complain they will not be able to afford transportation from the outskirts of Luanda to their jobs in the city centre. They also refuse to move into tents provided by the local government in Viana. Officials say they intend to build houses for the people and provide electricity and running water to the area. The shantytown has neither water nor power, and sewage runs through the streets.