Madagascar's presidency said on Sunday that an attempt to grab power by force was underway in the African nation as more soldiers joined a youth-led protest movement that has rocked the former French colony for more than two weeks.

Troops from the elite CAPSAT unit that helped President Andry Rajoelina seize power in a 2009 coup urged fellow soldiers to disobey orders on Saturday and back the youth-led protests, which began on Sept. 25 and pose the most serious challenge to Rajoelina's rule since his re-election in 2023.

CAPSAT officers said on Sunday they had command over the country's security operations and would co-ordinate all branches of the military from their base on the outskirts of the capital, Antananarivo. They said they had appointed Gen. Demosthene Pikulas as head of the ar

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