Madagascar’s military seized power from the civilian government on Tuesday, a high-ranking commander announced after President Andry Rajoelina fled the sprawling Indian Ocean island country for his safety.

The ouster of Rajoelina, who himself came to power as a transitional leader in a military-backed coup in 2009, capped weeks of protests led by young people fed up with power and water outages, persistent poverty and a lack of opportunities, among other issues.

Rajoelina’s office issued a statement calling the coup “a serious breach of the rule of law” and insisting that the state “remains standing.” But Col. Michael Randrianirina, whose elite CAPSAT military unit tipped the scales of power in the country last weekend by siding with the protesters, said “We are taking power,” as demonst

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