Madagascar president reportedly flees country as protest pressure mounts

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has reportedly fled the country amid intensifying protests calling for his resignation.

Rajoelina was scheduled to address the nation at 17:30 GMT on Monday but put it off over what the presidency cited as a threat from soldiers to seize state television.

This is the second time the president, who has also not been seen in public since last Wednesday, has had his speech postponed.

Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, leader of the opposition in parliament, told Reuters that Rajoelina left Madagascar on Sunday after units of the army defected and joined the protesters.

“We called the staff of the presidency, and they confirmed that he left the country,” Reuters quoted Randrianasoloniaiko as saying.

Citing a military source, Reuters reported that Rajoelina flew out of the country on a French military aircraft.

RFI, French radio, said he had struck a deal with President Emmanuel Macron.

Meanwhile, Christian Ntsay, Rajoelina’s former prime minister, and Maminiaina Ravatomanga, a businessman close to the president, flew to Mauritius “urgently” on Sunday, the Mauritian government confirmed.

Before his reported flight out of Madagascar, Rajoelina warned of an ongoing plot to grab power illegally as soldiers joined the youth-led protests.

Hours after the announcement, CAPSAT, an elite army unit, said it had taken over the leadership of the military command and is now in control of all the armed forces – land, air, and naval.

This is the most serious problem the Indian Ocean country has faced in years.