Madagascar president flaysattempt to oust government

Madagascar’s presidency says “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force” is under way, a day after soldiers from an elite military unit joined a youth-led protest against the government.
“In view of the extreme gravity of this situation, the President of the Republic … strongly condemns this attempt at destabilization and calls upon all forces of the nation to unite in defence of constitutional order and national sovereignty,” President Andry Rajoelina’s office said in a statement on Sunday. The statement did not identify who was behind what it identified as an attempted coup, but members of the elite CAPSAT military unit, which once installed Rajoelina in power, said it has taken over control of the armed forces after three weeks of deadly Gen Z protests.
“From now on, all orders of the Malagasy army – whether land, air or [naval] – will originate from CAPSAT headquarters,” officers from CAPSAT’s administrative and technical contingent said in a video message on Saturday.
It was not clear whether other units of the army would follow the order.
In the face of snowballing protests, Rajoelina faces the gravest political crisis of his rule of the African nation.
The protests by a group calling itself Gen Z Madagascar have spilled onto the streets for a third week. Saturday witnessed one of the largest protests since the unrest began last month over a range of issues, including a cost of living crisis and corruption.
Addressing crowds of protesters from an armoured vehicle, Colonel Michael Randrianirina of the CAPSAT unit, said on Saturday: “Do we call this a coup? I don’t know yet.”
The CAPSAT officers said they had named General Demosthene Pikulas as the head of the army, a post that has been vacant since its former occupant was appointed minister of the armed forces last week, the AFP news agency reported. However, it was not clear if the posting could be considered official.
There was no immediate response from other units or the existing military command.
On Saturday, a group of soldiers clashed with gendarmes at a barracks before driving into the city to join the Gen Z protesters calling for Rajoelina to step down.
On September 25, young protesters started demonstrations against water and electricity shortages, inspired by a wave of Gen Z-led protest movements in countries including Kenya, Indonesia, Morocco, Nepal and Bangladesh.
They soon escalated and snowballed into calling for the end of Rajoelina’s rule, dismantling the Senate and ending privileges for business owners perceived to be close to the president. They also want Rajoelina to apologise for the violence, in which at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured, according to the United Nations.