![Members of the Madagascar CAPSAT army contingent gather with protesters as the demonstrators celebrate their arrival Antananarivo's City Hall on October 11, 2025 [Luis Tato/AFP]](https://independentnews.co.sz/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AFP__20251011__78FR8Q6__v1__HighRes__MadagascarEconomyUnrestDemo-1760205784.webp)
Antananarivo – A growing number of soldiers in Madagascar have joined thousands of antigovernment protesters in the capital as demonstrations against President Andry Rajoelina’s rule intensify.
The protests, largely led by young people, reached a turning point on Saturday when demonstrators occupied Antananarivo’s historic May 13 Square for the first time since the unrest began on September 25. The movement, inspired by the Gen Z protests in Kenya and Nepal, has grown into a nationwide revolt over worsening living conditions and government mismanagement.
Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd, but the arrival of soldiers shifted the mood, with protesters cheering as some troops joined their ranks. Reports indicate that members of the elite CAPSAT unit, once loyal to Rajoelina during his 2009 rise to power, openly defied orders earlier that day.
In a video posted online, soldiers at the Soanierana barracks urged the army, gendarmes, and police to unite with citizens rather than suppress them. “Let us refuse to be paid to shoot our brothers and sisters,” one soldier said, calling on colleagues to block aircraft from leaving the airport and to reject any command to open fire on civilians.
Footage aired by local media later showed armed personnel escorting protesters into May 13 Square, which had been off-limits and heavily guarded for weeks. The crowd, numbering in the thousands, chanted for the president’s resignation and demanded reforms to address water and electricity shortages that have crippled daily life.
Amid rising tensions, newly appointed Armed Forces Minister General Deramasinjaka Manantsoa Rakotoarivelo appealed for calm, urging dissenting soldiers to engage in dialogue. He described the Malagasy army as “a mediator and the nation’s last line of defence.”
The protests have turned increasingly violent. Security forces have been accused of using excessive force, with viral videos showing officers beating demonstrators. The United Nations has condemned the crackdown, reporting at least 22 deaths and more than 100 injuries since the protests began.
President Rajoelina, however, disputed the figures, claiming that only 12 people had died, all of whom he described as “looters and vandals.” After initially dismissing his government to ease public anger, the president has now tightened his grip on power, appointing military figures to key cabinet positions, including Prime Minister Ruphin Fortunat Zafisambo.
Madagascar, one of the world’s poorest nations, has a long history of political turmoil. The island has seen repeated uprisings since independence in 1960, most notably in 2009 when the military ousted then-President Marc Ravalomanana and installed Rajoelina. He returned to office in 2018 and was re-elected in 2023 in a vote boycotted by the opposition.
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