The shooting took place in the town of Ikongo, about 330 km (205 miles) southeast of the capital Antananarivo, and security forces have sent reinforcements to restore order in the area, according to a police statement.

The trouble started when a crowd attempted to break into the police station to get hold of four people who were being detained on suspicion of kidnapping an albino child and murdering his mother, according to the police.

The child has not been found. In some African countries, albino children are sometimes abducted by people who believe they can be used for ritual purposes, though in this case there was no information about the motive of the alleged abduction.

The police statement said the situation in Ikongo was now calm, and the families of the people killed in the shooting had been offered financial compensation by the security forces.

(Reporting by Lovasoa RabaryWriting by Estelle ShirbonEditing by James Macharia Chege, William Maclean)