ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) – Madagascar’s presidency said on Sunday an attempt was underway to seize power by force in the African nation, as more soldiers joined a youth-led protest movement that has shaken the former French colony for more than two weeks.
Troops from the elite CAPSAT unit that helped President Andry Rajoelina seize power in a 2009 coup urged their fellow soldiers to disobey orders on Saturday and backed the youth-led protests, which began on September 25 and represent the most serious challenge to Rajoelina’s government since his re-election in 2023.
CAPSAT officials said on Sunday they were in command of the country’s security operations and would coordinate all branches of the military from their base outside the capital, Antananarivo. They said they had appointed General Demostene Pikulas as head of the army.
A paramilitary gendarmerie unit, which until now had fought the protests alongside the police, also broke ranks with the government on Sunday.
“All use of force and any improper behavior towards our fellow citizens is prohibited, since the gendarmerie is a force intended to protect people and not to defend the interests of a few,” said the Intervention Forces of the National Gendarmerie in a statement broadcast by Real TV.
He said he was coordinating with CAPSAT headquarters.
The Ministry of Defense and the military General Staff declined to comment.
A Reuters witness saw three people injured after gunshots were fired on Sunday on a road leading to the CAPSAT headquarters. Other witnesses said there were no signs of ongoing clashes.
In a statement on the presidency’s official social media account, Rajoelina’s office said “an illegal and forceful seizure of power was being attempted,” adding that the president had urged “dialogue to resolve the crisis.”
Rajoelina’s whereabouts were unknown on Sunday, but on Saturday night his office said he and the prime minister were in “full control of the nation’s affairs.”
GEN Z PROTESTERS WANT THE PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
The protests, inspired by Generation Z-led movements in Kenya and Nepal, began over water and electricity shortages but have since spread, with protesters calling for Rajoelina to resign, apologize for violence against protesters and dissolve the Senate and electoral commission.
Some protesters have sported T-shirts and flags with the same symbol – a skull in a straw hat from the Japanese manga series “One Piece” – used by youth-led protesters in countries such as Indonesia and Peru.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Antananarivo on Sunday to protest against the government and pay tribute to a slain CAPSAT soldier, who the army unit said was killed by gendarmerie on Saturday.
The peaceful gathering was attended by opposition religious and political leaders, including former President Marc Ravalomanana, as well as CAPSAT troops.
Madagascar, a country where the average age is less than 20, has a population of about 30 million, three-quarters of whom live in poverty, according to the World Bank.
A video broadcast by local media showed dozens of soldiers leaving the barracks on Saturday to escort thousands of protesters to Plaza 13 de Mayo in Antananarivo, the scene of numerous political uprisings, which had been heavily guarded and off-limits during the unrest.
The head of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, called for calm and restraint.
Citing the security situation on the ground, the French division of Air France-KLM suspended flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and Antananarivo from October 11 to 13.
(Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; writing by Ammu Kannampilly; editing by Bernadette Baum and Helen Popper)