According to a police statement, the three vendors from the so-called "German market", who were arrested on Friday, are said to have participated in the attacks that damaged the municipal administration of Caluquembe, the local headquarters of the MPLA party and the police and fire brigade facilities.
The acts of vandalism were carried out by more than 500 vendors armed with sticks, stones and machetes, who challenged the decision to close the market, due to the lack of hygiene and safety conditions in the measures to prevent contagion by covid-19.
The police reported that shots were fired to disperse the demonstrators, and two riot teams were sent to the scene, while demarches to capture others involved are still underway.
During the attack, the Lawyers' Residences and the Pitágoras College were also damaged.
Angop reported that this is the second case of popular uprising this month in Huíla, the first having taken place in the municipality of Quê, Chicomba, where the state administration was vandalized for the same reasons.
The closure of markets is one of the exceptional measures in force in the country under the state of emergency declared on 27 March for 15 days, which lasted until 25 April.
The country has so far recorded 24 cases of infection with the new coronavirus, 2 of which have resulted in death.
