Madagascar president warns of coup attempt as more soldiers join protests
ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) – Madagascar’s presidency said on Sunday that an attempt to seize power by force had begun in the African country, 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, which helped President Andry Rajoelina seize power in a 2009 coup, urged their fellow soldiers on Saturday to disobey orders and support youth-led protests that began Sept. 25 and pose the most serious challenge to Rajoelina’s rule since his re-election in 2023.
CAPSAT officers said on Sunday that they were directing the country’s security operations and would coordinate all branches of the military from their base on the outskirts of the capital Antananarivo. They said that they appointed General Demosthene Pikulas as the head of the army.
A unit of the paramilitary gendarmerie, which has so far responded to the protests alongside the police, also broke ranks with the government on Sunday.
“Since the Gendarmerie is a force to protect people, not to defend the interests of a few, any use of force and any inappropriate behavior against our citizens is prohibited,” the National Gendarmerie Intervention Forces said in a statement broadcast on Real TV. he said.
It was stated that it was in coordination with CAPSAT headquarters.
The Ministry of Defense and the military general staff declined to comment.
A Reuters eyewitness saw three people injured after gunfire along the road leading to the CAPSAT barracks on Sunday. Other eyewitnesses said there was no sign that the clashes were continuing.
Rajoelina’s office said in a statement on the presidency’s official social media account that the “illegal and forcible attempt to seize power” was continuing, adding that the president called for “dialogue to resolve the crisis.”
Rajoelina’s whereabouts were unknown on Sunday, but his office said late Saturday that he and the prime minister were “in complete control of the nation’s affairs.”
Generation Z protesters call for the president’s resignation
Protests inspired by Gen Z-led movements in Kenya and Nepal began over water and power outages but have since spread; demonstrators called for Rajoelina to resign, apologize for the violence against protesters, and dissolve the Senate and the electoral commission.
Some demonstrators carried T-shirts and flags bearing the same symbol – a skull with a straw hat from the Japanese manga series “One Piece” – used by youth-led demonstrators in countries such as Indonesia and Peru.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Antananarivo on Sunday to protest the government and commemorate a CAPSAT soldier who the army unit said was killed by gendarmerie on Saturday.
The peaceful meeting was attended by former President Marc Ravalomanana, as well as church leaders and opposition politicians, including CAPSAT troops.
Madagascar has a population of approximately 30 million, with the average age being under 20. According to the World Bank, three-quarters of this population lives in poverty.
A video published in local media showed dozens of soldiers leaving barracks on Saturday to escort thousands of protesters to May 13 Square in Antananarivo, which has been the scene of several political uprisings and remains heavily guarded and off-limits during the unrest.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, head of the African Union Commission, called for calm and restraint.
The French division of Air France-KLM suspended flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and Antananarivo from October 11 to October 13, citing the security situation at the site.
(Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; Writing by Ammu Kannampilly; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Helen Popper)
