Madagascar’s president leaves country amid Gen Z protests
1 of 2 | Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina, facing a threat of coup by thousands of protesters inside the island nation’s capital, has reportedly fled the country according to his staff. Weeks of protests by young adults with Gen Z Mada have left 22 dead, according to the United Nations. Photo by Henitsoa Rafalia/EPA
Oct. 13 (UPI) — Madagascar’s president has fled the country, according to reports, after thousands of protesters converged on the capital Monday to demand his resignation.
President Andry Rajoelina had been scheduled to address the island nation, which is located off Africa’s southeastern coast, when his office reported a group of soldiers had joined protesters in a threat to seize state television.
While Rajoelina’s whereabouts are unknown, his office said he would be making a speech Monday night. The president has dual French-Malagasy citizenship and was reported to have left the country in a French military aircraft, according to his staff.
Rajoelina, 51, said in a statement Sunday that he wanted to “inform the nation and the international community that an attempt to seize power illegally and by force” had been “initiated.”
On Saturday, Rajoelina’s new prime minister Gen. Ruphin Fortunat Zafisambo said the government was “fully ready to listen and engage in dialogue with all factions — youth, unions or the military.”
Monday’s coup attempt follows two weeks of protests, mostly led by young adults, called Gen Z Mada over alleged corruption, power and water shortages, as well as inflation and unemployment in Madagascar’s capital of Antananarivo.
At least 22 people have been killed and 100 injured since the start of the unrest in September, according to the United Nations. Since Madagascar declared its independence from France in 1960, it has seen several leaders toppled in coups.
“As long as Rajoelina remains in power, we will continue the struggle,” Gen Z Mada wrote in a statement earlier this month. Madagascar’s president responded to the unrest by appointing Zafisambo as prime minister in an effort to stop the anti-government protests.