Attempted coup underway in Madagascar, president says

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — An attempted coup is underway in the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, the country’s president said on Sunday, a day after members of an elite army unit joined youth-led protests against the government and called for the president to step down.

Madagascar has been shaken by three weeks of the most significant unrest in years in the nation. The protests are led by a group calling itself “Gen Z Madagascar,” and the United Nations says the demonstrations have left at least 22 people dead and dozens injured. The government has disputed this number.

A statement from President Andry Rajoelina’s office on Sunday said it “wishes to inform the nation and the international community that an attempt to seize power illegally and by force” has been “initiated.”

“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 defense of constitutional order and national sovereignty,” Rajoelina’s office said.

The statement did not identify who was attempting to overthrow the government, but members of the elite CAPSAT military unit joined youth-led protests against Rajoelina on Saturday and called for the president and other government officials to step down.

Addressing crowds of protesters from an armored vehicle, Col. Michael Randrianirina of the CAPSAT unit had said on Saturday: “Do we call this a coup? I don’t know yet.”

The protests on Saturday were among the largest since the unrest began.

Madagascar, a large island of 31 million people off the east coast of Africa, has had several leaders removed in coups since it gained independence from France in 1960. Rajoelina himself first came to power as the leader of a transitional government following a 2009 military-backed coup.

An uprising by the CAPSAT unit was pivotal in that 2009 coup that brought Rajoelina to power. He was elected president in 2018 and reelected in 2023, a vote boycotted by opposition parties.

The youth-led protests against service failures and alleged government corruption and nepotism first erupted on Sept. 25. The protests began over electricity and water outages but have snowballed into larger dissatisfaction with the government and the leadership of Rajoelina.

Protesters have brought up a range of issues, including poverty and the cost of living, access to tertiary education, and alleged corruption and embezzlement of public funds by government officials and their families and associates.

Civic groups and trade unions have joined the protests, which have resulted in nighttime curfews being enforced in the capital, Antananarivo, and other major cities.

Rajoelina had attempted to appease the protesters by firing his entire government, including the prime minister, on Sept. 29. But he appointed a military general as the new prime minister and the protesters have not relented.

The Gen Z protesters that inspired the uprising have their own website, Facebook page and other social media channels and have a GoFundMe page to raise money. They have mobilized over the internet and say they were inspired by other protests that toppled governments in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa