Overview

• Officers from the CAPSAT contingent declared that all Malagasy army commands would originate from their headquarters and said they had named General Demosthene Pikulas as army chief.
• The same unit had urged security forces to refuse orders to fire on demonstrators, then rode into Antananarivo to join large crowds after clashes with gendarmes near a barracks.
• President Andry Rajoelina labeled the development an attempt to seize power illegally, as the presidency stated he remains in the country and in charge of national affairs.
• Gendarmerie officers released a video acknowledging faults and excesses in recent interventions and said their orders would come solely from gendarmerie headquarters.
• There was no immediate endorsement from other military units as international concern grew, with the UN citing at least 22 dead and 100-plus injured and Air France suspending Paris–Antananarivo flights.