President Andry Rajoelina on Tuesday said he had fled Madagascar in fear for his life after a military rebellion, but did not announce his resignation in a speech broadcast on social media late on Monday from an undisclosed location.
The 51-year-old has faced weeks of Gen Z-led anti-government protests, which reached a pivotal point on Saturday when an elite military unit joined the protests and called for the president and other ministers to step down. That prompted Rajoelina to say that an illegal attempt to seize power was underway in the Indian Ocean island and to leave the country.
“I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life,” Rajoelina said in his late-night speech, which was also meant to be shown on Madagascar television but was delayed for hours after soldiers attempted to take control of the state broadcaster buildings, according to the president’s office.
The speech was ultimately broadcast on the president’s official Facebook page but not on national TV.
They were Rajoelina’s first public comments since the Capsat military unit turned against his government in an apparent coup and joined thousands of protesters rallying in a main square in the capital, Antananarivo, over the weekend.
