According to the Catholic Broadcaster of Angola, the rapes and murders of 16 elderly peasant women in agricultural fields in the municipality of Cazengo, in Cuanza Norte, was the reason for Sunday's demonstration, which was repressed by local police and resulted in several arrests.
The deaths of elderly women in such circumstances have been ongoing for a year and citizens took to the streets in protest, demanding justice, but the march was interrupted by local police, who fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, the broadcaster reported.
Several citizens were arrested following the march repressed by the police, including two deputies from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and a journalist who was covering the event, who were later released.
"There are protesters who are still missing and two people were hit by police gunfire," UNITA deputy Francisco Falua told reporters.
The UNITA parliamentary group, in a statement, condemned the arrest of deputies Francisco Falua and João Quipipa Dias, who it says were victims of police violence and illegal detention, while exercising fundamental rights protected by the Constitution.
According to UNITA, in the last 12 months that province has registered 16 murders and, to date, no crime has been solved, stating that the victims are all female and that there is a climate of "indignation, terror and fear" in Cuanza Norte.
This political party also urged the Minister of the Interior to "order speed" in the investigations into the homicide crimes "repeatedly reported and never clarified" in the province.
The spokesperson for the Provincial Command of the National Police in Cuanza Norte, Edgar Salvador, quoted by the newspaper O País, reported that two alleged perpetrators allegedly involved in the aforementioned homicides have already been arrested.
In a statement, local police clarified that they were called on Sunday to reestablish traffic on National Road 230, which was blocked "by unknown individuals" who rebelled when officers sought to restore order.
Police said six citizens were taken to the nearest police station and, after being properly identified, they noticed the presence of two deputies who were "immediately" released.
