Madagascar’s president warns of a coup attempt as more soldiers join protests

An attempt to seize power by force is underway in the African country, Madagascar’s presidency said on Sunday, as more soldiers joined a youth-led protest movement that has rocked the former French colony for more than two weeks.

Troops from the CAPSAT unit, which helped President Andry Rajoelina seize power in a 2009 coup, urged fellow soldiers to disobey orders on Saturday and support the youth-led protests, which began on September 25 and pose the most serious challenge to Rajoelina’s rule since his re-election in 2023.

CAPSAT officers said on Sunday they were in command of security operations in the country and would coordinate all branches of the military from their base on the outskirts of the capital, Antananarivo. They said they appointed General Demosthenes Pecholas as army commander.

A paramilitary gendarmerie unit, which has so far dealt with the protests along with the police, also broke away from the government on Sunday.

The National Gendarmerie Intervention Forces said in a statement broadcast on Real TV: “All use of force and any inappropriate behavior towards our citizens is prohibited, because the Gendarmerie is a force that aims to protect people and not defend the interests of a few individuals.”

She said she was coordinating with CAPSAT headquarters.

The Ministry of Defense and the Army General Staff declined to comment.

A Reuters witness saw three people injured after gunshots were fired on the road leading to the Kabasat barracks on Sunday. Other witnesses said there was no sign of the clashes continuing.

In a statement on the presidency’s official social media account, Rajoelina’s office said that “an attempt to seize power by force and illegality” is underway, adding that the president urged “dialogue to resolve the crisis.”

Rajoelina’s whereabouts were not known on Sunday, but his office said late on Saturday that he and the prime minister were “in full control of the country’s affairs.”

The young demonstrators are demanding that the president step down

The protests, inspired by the Gen Z-led movements in Kenya and Nepal, began over water and electricity shortages, but have since spread, with demonstrators calling on Rajoelina to step down, apologize for violence against protesters, and dissolve the Senate and the Electoral Commission.

Some protesters wore T-shirts and flags bearing the same symbol — a skull and straw hat from the Japanese manga series. one piece – Used by youth-led protesters in countries such as Indonesia and Peru.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Antananarivo on Sunday to demonstrate against the government and pay tribute to the killed Kapsat soldier, who the army unit said was killed by gendarmes on Saturday.

The peaceful rally was attended by church leaders and opposition politicians, including former President Marc Ravalomanana, as well as CAPSAT forces.

Madagascar, a country where the average lifespan is under 20, has a population of about 32 million people — three-quarters of whom live in poverty, according to the World Bank.

A video broadcast by local media showed dozens of soldiers leaving barracks on Saturday to escort thousands of demonstrators to Antananarivo’s May 13 Square, which has been the scene of several political uprisings and which was heavily guarded and off-limits during the unrest.

The Chairman of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssef, called for calm and restraint.

Due to the security situation on the ground, the French division of Air France-KLM suspended its flights between Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Antananarivo from Saturday to Monday.