ZEBU WAR
February 2016 - Village of AMBOHOTSILAOZANA, Madagascar - Portrait of Lieutenant Razafindrasolo Christian (1st left), 54, chief of post, accompanied by his men from the Security Support Detachment (DAS) based in the village of Ambohitsilaozana . While the detachment is made up of only four gendarmes, it is responsible for ensuring the security of 3 municipalities and 14 villages. Their main mission is to pursue and arrest the dahalo (zebu thieves) who are rampant in the region. Regularly, Lieutenant Razafindrasolo organizes awareness missions in the villages to encourage the local population to identify and denounce the dahalo. The gendarmes also strongly advise the population to collaborate with them under penalty of being accused of complicity themselves. The local media had already accused these same gendarmes of arbitrary execution of presumed dahalo detainees.