Antananarivo, Madagascar — Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has left the country after an elite military unit turned against the government in an apparent coup, an opposition lawmaker in the Indian Ocean country said Monday.

The lawmaker's comments came shortly before Rajoelina was due to appear on national television to make a speech to the people of Madagascar.

Rajoelina’s office said that his speech would be broadcast on state television and radio at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), but didn’t say if the president was still in Madagascar amid reports he had fled following weeks of deadly anti-government protests.

Those protests, which were initially led by youth groups, reached a turning point on Saturday when soldiers from the elite CAPSAT military unit accompanied demonstrators t

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