Madagascar’s presidency said on Sunday that “an attempted illegal and forcible seizure of power” was underway in the African nation, without providing details, a day after some soldiers joined a protest movement that had begun last month.
Troops from the elite CAPSAT unit urged fellow soldiers to disobey orders and back the youth-led protests, which began on September 25.
In a statement on the presidency’s official social media account, President Andry Rajoelina’s office said he condemned attempts to destabilise the country and urged “dialogue to resolve the crisis.”
The African Union commission’s chief Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Sunday welcomed “the government’s renewed commitment to dialogue” and called for calm and restraint.
