<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Madagascar authorities on Sunday were on the hunt for a gang of cattle rustlers that killed at least 32 people by setting homes on fire in a village north of Antananarivo.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Army helicopters have been deployed to locate the suspects and help ground troops searching the Ankazobe area about 75 kilometres north of the capital, the defence ministry said in a Facebook statement.</div><div><br></div><div>"The perpetrators must be found and punished according to the law," President Andry Rajoelina said in a social media statement, describing the killings as a "massacre."</div><div><br></div><div>"The Malagasy army is in charge of rescuing the local population and hunting down the outlaws."</div><div><br></div><div>Police said 32 people were killed and three injured as a gang of about 12 bandits attacked the village of Ambolotarakely, in Ankazobe, on Friday.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The attackers -- cattle rustlers, known locally as the dahalo -- rounded up the victims inside three houses and set the buildings on fire, police said. The three wounded were in intensive care at a local hospital.</div><div><br></div><div>Located on a small hill, the village of Ambolotarakely is made up of about a dozen homes with thatched roofs.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Television footage from the scene showed the three houses completely burnt down, with only parts of the walls still standing.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Police said the culprits likely lived in surrounding areas.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>"The army will do everything possible to arrest the perpetrators of this massacre as soon as possible," Defence Minister Richard Rakotonirina told local media as he visited Ambolotarakely on Saturday. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>