Army storms Madagascan presidency

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-17 07:50

In Brussels, the European Union warned against the violent overthrow of Ravalomanana and said it would not recognise any new leader imposed by force.

"If a new head of state is established by pure force, by military force, it is not somebody we consider," said Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Madagascan pro-opposition armed forces successfully forced into a presidential palace on Monday evening in the downtown of Antananarivo, Madagascar's capital, but President Marc Ravalomanana was not inside the building.

A soldier runs while holding a weapon, after two tanks backed by troops forced their way into a presidential palace, in Antananarivo March 16, 2009. [Agencies]

In Britain, junior foreign minister Mark Malloch-Brown said London was "increasingly concerned" by developments and the African Union's Peace and Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the crisis.

It "condemned all acts that lead to crises".

The president lost control of the army last week, when a military camp mutinied, arguing it was not prepared to turn its guns against the opposition or any civilians as the political feud escalated.

The rest of the country's 20,000-plus armed forces followed suit, leaving Ravalomanana more isolated than ever since the crisis erupted late last year.

In February, the presidential guard mowed down protestors, killing 28, following days of street demonstrations against Ravalomanana, who has been in power since 2002.

Army chief of staff Andriarijaona said that the army would not assault the presidential palace until the presidential guard, the last security force still loyal to Ravalomanana, agreed to step aside.

"We are against any bloodletting, so we won't go there until we obtain guarantees on the presidential guard's intentions," he explained.

A top security official, General Gilbain Pily, told AFP that several members of Ravalomanana's presidential guard had already defected.

"Members of the guard have freely reintegrated in the units in which they were trained, in the gendarmerie, police or army," Pily said.

Rajoelina, accusing his rival of being a dictator starving his people, has used his charisma and own private television station to mount a brazen challenge on the country's top office.

On Saturday, Rajoelina called on Ravalomanana to "humbly leave power in the next four hours," but as the deadline expired, the president refused to resign and accused his rival of resorting to street "terror".

Ravalomanana said in a statement Monday that Rajoelina's claim to power was illegitimate and argued that opposition to the referendum was tantamount to "supporting anarchy".

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