Madagascar’s president says a coup is underway after soldiers joined antigovernment protests

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina said Sunday that an attempted coup was underway in the Indian Ocean country, a day after members of an elite army unit had joined youth-led protests against the government and called for him to step down.

Rajoelina’s office offered no details on who was behind the attempt and no signs of violence were immediately visible on the streets Sunday.

A commander of the elite CAPSAT unit, Col. Michael Randrianirina, said his troops had exchanged fire with security forces who were attempting to quell the protests Saturday and that one of his soldiers had been killed. The unit claimed to have taken charge of the military but offered no evidence.

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

The statement from Rajoelina’s office said he “wishes to inform the nation and the international community that an attempt to seize power illegally and by force” had been “initiated.”

“In view of the extreme gravity of this situation,” the statement said, the president’s office “strongly condemns this attempt at destabilization and calls upon all forces of the nation to unite in defense of constitutional order and national sovereignty.”

On Saturday, CAPSAT forces joined the weeks-long protests against the president, and Randrianirina called for Rajoelina and his government officials to step down. The protests were among the largest since the unrest began Sept. 25.

Speaking to crowds from an armored vehicle, Randrianirina said Saturday that Rajoelina, his new prime minister, the minister of the gendarmerie and the commander of the gendarmerie “must leave power. That’s all.”

“Do we call this a coup? I don’t know yet,” Randrianirina had said.

The whereabouts of the president were not immediately known Sunday. Rajoelina’s government said in a statement that he remained in the country and had not fled.

Madagascar, a large island of 31 million people off the east coast of Africa, has had several leaders removed in coups and has a history of political crises since it gained independence from France in 1960.

The 51-year-old Rajoelina came to power as the leader of a transitional government following a 2009 military-backed coup that forced then-President Marc Ravalomanana to flee the country. He returned in 2014 but hasn’t held office since.

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

As the news of Rajoelina’s statement broke, the U.S. Embassy in Madagascar advised American citizens to shelter in place due to a “highly volatile and unpredictable” situation. The African Union urged all parties, “both civilian and military, to exercise calm and restraint.”

The youth-led protests erupted last month over electricity and water outages but have grown 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. The U.N. criticized the security forces for a “violent response” in the early days of the protests that led to the deaths of largely peaceful protesters, it said.

Rajoelina 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 protests have not relented.

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

Tetaud and Imray write for the Associated Press. Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.