Soldiers expressed their support for Gen Z protesters, while the office of the President Andry Rajoelina says protesters are trying to seize power by force.

Rajoelina first came to power in 2009 after protests, with the help of the elite military CAPSAT unit. Now they’re calling for other soldiers to disobey his orders.

CAPSAT officials said they coordinate the protests from their military base in the nation’s capital, Antananarivo. They are already joined by the unit of paramilitary gendarmerie that previously suppressed the protests alongside the police. At least one CAPSAT soldier was shot by the gendarmes on Saturday.

The protests began on September 25. Initially, they were against electricity and water cuts, but also expressed general dissatisfaction with the current government. Protesters accused the president of corruption, the cost-of-living crisis and high rates of unemployment. In the last few years, the country has been low in many economic and quality of life rankings.

“The president has been in power more than 15 years and still there’s no water, no electricity, no jobs,” protester Vanessa Rafanomezantsoa told Reuters.

“Look at Madagascar. [The government] are rich and we don’t have enough to eat.”

Recently, protesters have reached the central square in Antananarivo, May 13 Square.

“We’re happy and relieved,” a protester told the BBC. “It’s a great victory. We won’t stop the struggle until President Rajoelina resigns.”

Even though on Saturday Rajoelina said the situation was under control, his whereabouts now are unknown, and many Malagasy believe he has fled the country.

The protest movement in Madagascar, called Gen Z Mada, follows other recent Gen Z-led protests from around the globe. Some of the protesters wore T-shirts with the Japanese anime series One Piece, which earlier became a symbol of anti-governmental protests in Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal and others.

Photo: Andry Rajoelina en février by India in Madagascar and Comoros found HERE and used under Creative Commons License. The Image has not been modified.