An elite military unit said on Tuesday it had taken power in Madagascar
after the national assembly voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina
for desertion of duty.
The 51-year-old president had refused growing demands to step down,
going into hiding after weeks of anti-government street demonstrations in
the island nation.
Head of the CAPSAT military unit, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, said
they have taken power after reading out a statement at a government
building in the capital.
Randrianirina added that the unit will set up a committee composed of
officers from the army, gendarmerie, and national police.
CAPSAT played a major role in the 2009 coup that first brought Rajoelina
to power.
The announcement came minutes after the lower house of parliament
voted to impeach Rajoelina in a session dismissed by the presidency as
devoid of any legal basis.
The impeachment passed with 130 votes in favour, well above the two-
thirds constitutional threshold required in the 163-member chamber.
