* Presidency says attempted coup under way * Some soldiers announce support for protesters * Protests have escalated since September 25 * President's whereabouts unknown on Sunday (Adds protest along main avenue, comments from protesters, paragraphs 12-14) By Lovasoa Rabary and Tim Cocks ANTANANARIVO, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Madagascar's presidency said on Sunday that an attempt to grab power by force was under way as more soldiers threw their support behind a youth-led protest movement that has rocked the African island nation for more than two weeks. Troops from the elite CAPSAT unit, which helped President Andry Rajoelina seize power in a 2009, urged fellow soldiers to disobey orders on Saturday and back the demonstrators. The protests, initially over grassroots grievances, began on September 25 and now pose the most serious challenge to Rajoelina's rule since his reelection in 2023. CAPSAT officers said on Sunday they had command over the country's security operations and would coordinate all branches of the military from their base on the outskirts of the capital, Antananarivo. They said they had appointed General Demosthene Pikulas, the former head of the military academy, as army chief. GENDARMES SWITCH SIDES, PRESIDENT'S WHEREABOUTS UKNOWN A unit of the paramilitary gendarmerie, which had so far tackled the protests together with the police, also broke ranks with the government on Sunday. "All use of force and any improper behaviour towards our fellow citizens are prohibited, as the gendarmerie is a force meant to protect people and not to defend the interests of a few individuals," the Intervention Forces of the National Gendarmerie said in a statement broadcast on Real TV. It said it was coordinating with the CAPSAT headquarters. The defence ministry and the military general staff declined to comment. A Reuters witness saw three people injured after shots were fired along a road to the CAPSAT barracks on Sunday. However, there was no sign of ongoing clashes. In a statement on its social media account, Rajoelina's office said "an attempted illegal and forcible seizure of power" was under way, adding that the president had urged "dialogue to resolve the crisis". Rajoelina's office said late on Saturday that he and the prime minister were "fully in control of the nation's affairs". The president's whereabouts were unknown on Sunday, however, with many Malagasy believing he had left the country. GEN Z PROTESTERS WANT PRESIDENT TO STEP DOWN The protests, inspired by Gen Z-led movements in Kenya and Nepal, began over water and electricity shortages. They have since spread, with demonstrators calling for Rajoelina to step down, apologise for violence against protesters, and dissolve the Senate and electoral commission. Along Independence Avenue, Antananarivo's principal artery, a Reuters reporter saw protestors shouting anti-government slogans on Sunday, waving Malagasy flags and riding motorbikes up and down the street cheering. "The president has been in power more than 15 years, and still there's no water, no electricity, no jobs," said Vanessa Rafanomezantsoa, a 24-year-old mother of two, unemployed and wearing torn clothes. "Look at Madagascar. They (the government) are rich and we don't have enough to eat." Earlier, protesters paid tribute to a slain CAPSAT soldier the army unit said was killed by the gendarmerie on Saturday. Church leaders and opposition politicians, including former President Marc Ravalomanana, as well as CAPSAT troops, attended the peaceful gathering. Some demonstrators have been sporting T-shirts and flags with the same symbol – a skull with a straw hat from the Japanese manga series "One Piece" – used by youth-led demonstrators in countries including Indonesia and Peru. AFRICAN UNION CALLS FOR CALM AND RESTRAINT Madagascar, a country where the median age is less than 20, has a population of about 30 million – three-quarters of whom live in poverty, according to the World Bank. Average annual income has been stuck at $600, while food prices have spiralled. A video broadcast by local media showed dozens of soldiers leaving the barracks on Saturday to escort thousands of protesters into the May 13 Square in Antananarivo, the scene of many political uprisings, which had been heavily guarded and off limits during the unrest. The African Union Commission's chief Mahmoud Ali Youssouf called for calm and restraint. Citing the security situation on the ground, Air France-KLM's French division suspended flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and Antananarivo from October 11 to October 13. (Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; Writing by Ammu Kannampilly; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Helen Popper and Joe Bavier)
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