Madagascar ’s presidency announced on Sunday that a violent bid to seize power was under way, as more soldiers joined a youth-led protest movement that has shaken the island nation for over two weeks.
Troops from the elite CAPSAT unit, which helped President Andry Rajoelina seize power in 2009, urged fellow soldiers to disobey orders on Saturday and back the demonstrators. The protests, initially over grassroots grievances, began on September 25 and now pose the most serious challenge to Rajoelina’s rule since his reelection in 2023.
CAPSAT officers said on Sunday they had command over 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 they had appointed General Demosthene Pikulas