ANTANANARIVO – Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina was due to make a speech on national television on Monday after an elite military unit turned against the government in an apparent coup in the Indian Ocean nation and called for Rajoelina to step down.

Rajoelina’s office said that his speech would be broadcast on state television and radio at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), but didn’t say if the president was still in Madagascar amid reports he had fled following weeks of deadly anti-government protests.

Those protests, which were initially led by youth groups, reached a turning point on Saturday when soldiers from the elite CAPSAT military unit accompanied demonstrators to a square in the capital, Antananarivo, and called for Rajoelina and several government ministers to leave office.

The unit, which helped Rajoelina first come to power as transitional leader in a military-backed coup in 2009, said that it had taken charge of all the armed forces in Madagascar.

Rajoelina’s office said Sunday that “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force” was underway in the nation of 31 million off the east coast of Africa. Rajoelina’s current whereabouts are unknown and a spokesperson for the president didn’t respond to phone calls and messages.

Rajoelina hasn’t identified who was behind the attempted coup, but the CAPSAT military unit appeared to be in a position of authority and on Sunday appointed a general as the new head of Madagascar’s armed forces, which was accepted by the minister of defense.

A commander of CAPSAT, Col. Michael Randrianirina, said that his soldiers had exchanged gunfire with security forces who were attempting to quell weekend protests, and one of his soldiers was killed. But there was no major fighting on the streets, and soldiers riding on armored vehicles and waving Madagascar flags were cheered by people in Antananarivo.

Randrianirina said that the army had “responded to the people’s calls,” but denied there was a coup. Speaking at the country’s military headquarters on Sunday, he told reporters that it was up to the Madagascan people to decide what happens next, and if Rajoelina leaves power and a new election is held.

The U.S. Embassy in Madagascar advised American citizens to shelter in place because of a “highly volatile and unpredictable” situation. The African Union urged all parties, “both civilian and military, to exercise calm and restraint.”

Madagascar has been shaken by three weeks of the most significant unrest in years in the nation. The protests erupted on Sept. 25 over water and electricity outages and were led by a group calling itself “Gen Z Madagascar.” The United Nations says the demonstrations left at least 22 people dead and dozens injured. The government has disputed this number.

The demonstrations snowballed into larger dissatisfaction with the government and the leadership of Rajoelina and 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 also joined the protests, which resulted in nighttime curfews being enforced in Antananarivo and other major cities. Curfews were still in effect in Antananarivo and the northern port city of Antsiranana.

The Gen Z protesters who inspired the uprising have mobilized over the internet and say they were inspired by other protests that toppled governments in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Madagascar 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 first came to prominence as the leader of a transitional government following a 2009 coup that forced then President Marc Ravalomanana to flee the country and lose power. Rajoelina was elected president in 2018 and reelected in 2023 in a vote boycotted by opposition parties.

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Gerald Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa