Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina has fled the country, saying he feared for his life after a military rebellion, but he stopped short of resigning in a speech broadcast on social media late Monday from an undisclosed location.
The 51-year-old leader has faced weeks of anti-government protests led by Gen Z activists, which escalated on Saturday when the elite Capsat military unit joined demonstrators and called for him and other ministers to step down. Rajoelina described the move as an illegal attempt to seize power and left the Indian Ocean island.
“I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life,” Rajoelina said in his address, which was initially meant to be shown on national television but was delayed after soldiers attempted to take control of state broadcaster buildings, according to the president's office. The speech was ultimately published on the presidency's Facebook page.
Rajoelina called for dialogue “to find a way out of this situation” and urged respect for the constitution. He did not reveal how he left Madagascar or his current location, though a report claimed he was flown out on a French military plane. The French foreign ministry declined to comment.
Thousands of protesters, including soldiers from the Capsat unit and gendarmerie officers who admitted to “faults and excesses” in their response, flooded a square in Antananarivo on Monday. At least 22 people have been killed since the protests began, according to the UN, though Rajoelina disputed the toll, citing 12 deaths among “looters and vandals”.
