Madagascar president flees amid military rebellion; elite unit claims control
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina says he fled the country for his safety amid what he called an attempted coup, delivering a speech from an undisclosed location after soldiers tried to seize state broadcaster facilities and his address failed to air. An elite unit, CAPSAT, claims it now controls the armed forces, has appointed a new military leader reportedly accepted by the defense minister and backed by gendarmerie units, while its commander denied calling it a coup and said there were exchanges of gunfire with one CAPSAT soldier killed; the unrest follows weeks of protests over water and electricity outages and unconfirmed reports say Rajoelina may have been flown out by a French military plane.
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đź“Ś Key Facts
- President Andry Rajoelina says he fled Madagascar for his safety and delivered a speech from an undisclosed location late Oct. 13 that was posted on the presidency’s Facebook page.
- CAPSAT, an elite military unit, says it now controls all armed forces and has appointed a new officer to lead the military; the defense minister reportedly accepted that appointment in Rajoelina’s absence and gendarmerie units are said to back CAPSAT.
- CAPSAT commander Col. Michael Randrianirina denied the action was a coup, said the people should decide the next steps, and reported exchanges of gunfire with security forces in which one CAPSAT soldier was killed.
- Soldiers attempted to take over state broadcaster facilities, and Rajoelina’s speech did not air on national television.
- Protests that began Sept. 25 over water and electricity outages have grown into wider anti-government unrest, with soldiers on armored vehicles being cheered by crowds in Antananarivo.
- There is an unconfirmed report that Rajoelina may have been flown out of the country by a French military aircraft; France declined to comment.
đź“° Sources (2)
Madagascar's president flees country in fear for his life after military rebellion
New information:
- President Andry Rajoelina says he fled Madagascar for his safety and issued a speech from an undisclosed location late Oct. 13, posted on the presidency’s Facebook page.
- CAPSAT claims it now controls all armed forces and appointed a new officer to lead the military, which the defense minister accepted in Rajoelina’s absence; gendarmerie units also back CAPSAT.
- Soldiers attempted to take over state broadcaster facilities; Rajoelina’s speech did not air on national TV.
- CAPSAT commander Col. Michael Randrianirina denied a coup, said the people should decide next steps, and reported exchanges of gunfire with security forces, with one CAPSAT soldier killed.
- Protests began Sept. 25 over water/electricity outages and have grown into wider anti-government unrest; soldiers on armored vehicles were cheered by crowds in Antananarivo.
- Unconfirmed report suggests Rajoelina may have been flown out by a French military aircraft; France declined comment.