By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
A mutinied army unit announced on Sunday that it was taking control of all military forces in Madagascar, while President Andry Rajoelina said that an “attempt to seize power illegally” was underway.
The CAPSAT contingent of administrative and technical officers joined thousands of protesters in the city centre on Saturday, marking a major shift in a protest movement against the government that has lasted more than two weeks.
Earlier, the unit had declared that it would “refuse orders to shoot” and criticised the gendarmerie, who have faced accusations of using heavy-handed tactics against protesters, resulting in several deaths.
“From now on, all orders of the Malagasy army — whether land, air or the army — will originate from CAPSAT headquarters,” officers from the CAPSAT contingent of administrative and technical officers said in a video statement.
There was no immediate response from other units or the military command.
On Saturday, soldiers from the unit clashed with gendarmes outside a barracks before riding into the city in army vehicles to join the demonstrators, who welcomed them with jubilation and calls for Rajoelina to resign.
The president issued a statement on Sunday, saying “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force, contrary to the Constitution and to democratic principles, is currently underway.”
“Dialogue is the only way forward and the only solution to the crisis currently facing the country,” he added, calling for “unity.”
Gendarmerie officers, in a video statement on Sunday, acknowledged “faults and excesses during our interventions,” urging “fraternity” between the army and the gendarmes.
“We are here to protect, not to terrorise,” they said, adding that “from now on, all orders will come solely” from the gendarmerie’s headquarters.
Saturday’s demonstration in the capital, Antananarivo, was one of the largest since the protests began on September 25, driven by public anger over power and water shortages.
On Sunday night, the government confirmed that Rajoelina remained “in the country” and was overseeing national affairs, while the newly appointed prime minister said the government was “standing strong” and “ready to collaborate and listen.”
The soldiers urging the military to refrain from cracking down on protesters were part of the CAPSAT contingent of administrative and technical officers based in the Soanierana district on the outskirts of Antananarivo.
The Soanierana military base was the site of a mutiny in 2009 during a popular uprising that brought Rajoelina to power.
The United Nations reported that at least 22 people were killed in the early days of the protests beginning September 25, some by security forces and others in violence triggered by criminal gangs and looters amid the demonstrations.
Rajoelina has disputed this figure, saying last week that there were “12 confirmed deaths and all of these individuals were looters and vandals.”
Local media reported that emergency services confirmed an additional two deaths and 26 injuries on Saturday.
The CAPSAT unit also said that a soldier was shot by gendarmes and died.