Madagascar president’s national address delayed after troops threaten to seize state broadcaster

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina postponed a planned national address on Monday after a group of soldiers threatened to seize the headquarters of the state broadcaster, according to the presidency.

In a statement, the presidential office said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Demosthene Pikulas had been dispatched to the broadcaster’s compound to “mediate, organise, and take responsibility” amid growing tensions.

The speech, initially scheduled for 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), was postponed twice, first to 8.30 p.m., then to 9.30 p.m. as negotiations continued.

The incident follows weeks of youth-led protests over worsening poverty, power and water shortages, corruption, and calls for Rajoelina to resign.

The unrest has already led to a Cabinet reshuffle and the appointment of a new prime minister. Some of the president’s allies, including former Prime Minister Christian Ntsay, have reportedly fled to Mauritius.

Troops from the Army Personnel Administration Centre (CAPSAT), which helped Rajoelina seize power in 2009, have joined the protests and named their own military chief — a move Rajoelina condemned as an “illegal attempt to seize power.”

France’s embassy in Antananarivo denied claims that French forces had flown the president out of the country, saying no military operation was “underway or planned.”

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