Bloodless end to Madagascar coup bid

An attempted coup on the troubled Indian Ocean island of Madagascar has been defused without bloodshed, the regime’s prime minister said.

Camille Vital told reporters that 16 army officers surrendered, ending an impasse which began on Wednesday when a group of soldiers declared that they were taking over from leader Andry Rajoelina.

Mr Rajoelina, a former mayor and disc jockey, himself had the military’s support when he toppled an elected president last year after months of violent protest.

Earlier, reporters saw hundreds of troops loyal to Mr Rajoelina converge on a base near the airport in the capital, Antananarivo, where the mutineers were holed up. Officials said talks were planned, but shots could be heard inside the base.

Colonel Julien Ravelomihary, a high-ranking member of the High Transitional Authority’s military, told reporters that mutinous officers were ready to hand themselves over, but some junior officers initially resisted.

Despite the sound of shooting, Mr Vital said, “This crisis ended with the surrender of the mutineers, without bloodshed or threat to human life.”

He said those who surrendered would face trial.

Earlier, police fired tear gas to break up a crowd of several hundred anti-Rajoelina demonstrators in central Antananarivo.

The protest was led by a mayors’ organisation which is seeking a negotiated resolution to the crisis. Police said they arrested the group’s leader. No injuries were reported.

The protesting mayors said they also oppose an electoral plan imposed by Mr Rajoelina.

Wednesday’s coup attempt came amid a nationwide vote on Mr Rajoelina’s proposed constitution. The vote went ahead, and incomplete results put the “yes” vote well ahead.

Leaders of Madagascar’s neighbours, meeting at a regional summit in Botswana, said they did not recognise the referendum as legitimate, and that Mr Rajoelina had been informed of that last month.

The proposed new charter largely resembles the existing constitution, but states that the current leader of the so-called High Transitional Authority leader – Mr Rajoelina – would remain in power until a new president is elected. There is no certainty new elections will be held.

The proposed constitution also sets the minimum age to be president at 35 instead of the current 40. Mr Rajoelina is 36.

Since Madagascar gained independence from France in 1960, soldiers have repeatedly meddled in politics.

Most Malagasy, as the nation’s people are known, live in poverty, which ecotourism, vanilla production and the recent discovery of oil have done little to alleviate. Madagascar is famed for its lemurs and other unique wildlife and was the inspiration for two animated films of the same name.