Fuel shortages bite amid fear of civil war

The Organisation for African Unity (OAU) held emergency talks Thursday with Madagascar's two rival leaders as fear of civil war spread and fuel shortages began to bite on Thursday. The army finds itself split between supporters of incumbent President Didier Ratsiraka and his rival and self-declared president, Marc Ravalomanana. The OAU delegation has held talks with both Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka since arriving on Wednesday, but few details have emerged from the meetings. Former Cape Verde president Antonio Mascarenhas Moteiro, leader of the (OAU) delegation, told reporters only that the meetings had been "very interesting and fruitful". The political crisis is threatening to split the African island state, with two governments declared and five provincial governors declaring recognition of an alternative capital to the opposition-controlled Antananarivo. Ratsiraka loyalist, army chief of staff General Ismael Mounibou, urged troops to remain loyal to the president or risk the outbreak of widespread violence, the Madagascan daily newspaper Midi Madagasikara reported on Thursday. Madeleine Ramaholimihaso, who headed the consortium of civil society organisations that supervised the disputed presidential poll on 16 December 2001, told IRIN the apparent split in the army had not as yet played itself out on the streets of Antananarivo. Up until last week the army had declared itself neutral in the conflict engulfing the Indian Ocean island. However, troops in Antananarivo did nothing to stop the deployment of Ravalomanana's cabinet to ministerial buildings this week, and failed to break up opposition rallies despite the imposition of martial law by Ratsiraka. Ratsiraka has been forced out of Antananarivo and has set up a rival capital in the coastal city of Tamatave. The road linking Antananarivo to Tamatave has now been blocked, apparently by Ratsiraka's supporters. Antananarivo receives its supplies via the coast city of Tamatave. The capital, which is a stronghold of Ravalomanana, has not received any supplies of petrol for more than four weeks. The blockade is also placing a stranglehold on the companies in Madagascar's free zone, a group of multinational corporations working mainly in textiles that have a huge impact on the economy. Residents of Antananarivo are becoming increasingly frustrated with the fuel shortages in the capital. "Most people aren’t prepared for this. We expected it to last for a few days, but now it seems that it could be a lot worse. People are angry and frustrated," an one resident told IRIN.