RAZANOSAA Edmondine still looks shell-shocked as she recalls the death of her one-month-old grandson, killed by police tear gas in protests that have rocked Madagascar over the last two weeks.
“It was just a normal Friday. My daughter-in-law was going to the market with the baby when they encountered demonstrators on the road,” she tells the BBC at the family’s home on the northern outskirts of the capital, Antananarivo.
“Not long after, police showed up and started dispersing the protest with tear gas.”
It was the second day of youth-led protests, triggered by anger over persistent power and water shortages, and Ms Edmondine’s daughter-in-law ran into a nearby building with other protesters to take cover.
Police then fired more tear gas canisters into the building, quickly filling it with choking smoke.
With the streets in chaos, they could not get to a hospital until the following day. By then, the damage had been done.
“The baby was trying to cry but no sound came out,” says Ms Edmondine softly.
“It was like something was blocking his chest. The doctor told us he had inhaled too much smoke. A couple of days later, he passed away.”
Her grandchild is one of at least 22 people the UN says were killed during clashes between police and demonstrators in the early days of the protests, which have since escalated into broader dissatisfaction over corruption, high unemployment and the cost-of-living crisis in one of the world’s poorest nations.
The government of President Andry Rajoelina has dismissed this figure as misinformation but has not provided its own numbers.
However, it has emphasised that the value of property damage exceeds $47m (£35m). The first days of the protests were marked by widespread violence, with cars set on fire, shop windows smashed and a two-month-old, multi-million-dollar cable car station vandalised.
Rabe, who only gave the BBC his first name, has accused the police of firing live bullets at peaceful protesters – a few blocks away from where Ms Edmondine’s daughter-in-law was hiding.
As police launched tear gas, panic spread fast and people fled in every direction, seeking shelter inside any open building, but he says his 20-year-old autistic son did not understand what was happening.
“He must have slipped outside to see what was going on. That’s when the police shot him and continued chasing other protesters.”
He believes his son was shot from the front, as the bullet left a large open wound in his back – the likely exit wound.
“I don’t know much, but as far as I know, when someone raises their hands, it means they haven’t stolen anything, they haven’t vandalised anything,” says Rabe. “He was just there to see what was happening.”
Responding to accusations of police brutality, earlier this week President Rajoelina said: “There have been deaths, we completely agree. And I truly sympathise with the suffering and pain of the families who have lost loved ones.
“But I want to tell you that these deaths are not protesters, they are not students. They are rioters. They are the ones who looted.”