A military contingent joined thousands of anti-government demonstrators in Madagascar on Saturday, calling on security forces to “refuse orders to shoot” and condemning police action to quell over two weeks of youth-led protests that have rocked the Indian Ocean island.
The newly appointed premier on Saturday night said the government was “standing strong” and “ready to collaborate and listen to all forces — the youth, trade unions, and the military”.
“Madagascar will not be able to withstand any further crises if this division among the people continues,” Prime Minister Ruphin Fortunat Dimbisoa Zafisambo said in a short video speech.
Members of a section of the Malagasy army ride an armoured vehicle surrounded by protesters celebrating their arrival as they head to City Hall to address the population after securing the area following clashes between demonstrators and security forces during protests calling for the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina in Antananarivo, on October 11, 2025. Groups of Madagascar soldiers joined thousands of protestors in the capital on October 11, 2025, after announcing they would refuse any orders to shoot demonstrators.
Fresh youth-led demonstrations in Antananarivo drew large crowds in one of the biggest gatherings since a protest movement erupted on the Indian Ocean island on September 25.
After police used stun grenades and tear gas to try to disperse the demonstrators, soldiers arrived at the heart of the gathering near the Lake Anosy area where they were welcomed with cheers. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP)Members of a section of the Malagasy army arrive riding an armoured vehicle surrounded by protesters celebrating their arrival to City Hall to address the population after securing the area following clashes between demonstrators and security forces during protests calling for the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina in Antananarivo, on October 11, 2025. Groups of Madagascar soldiers joined thousands of protestors in the capital on October 11, 2025, after announcing they would refuse any orders to shoot demonstrators.
Fresh youth-led demonstrations in Antananarivo drew large crowds in one of the biggest gatherings since a protest movement erupted on the Indian Ocean island on September 25.
After police used stun grenades and tear gas to try to disperse the demonstrators, soldiers arrived at the heart of the gathering near the Lake Anosy area where they were welcomed with cheers. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP)
The presidency meanwhile sent out a statement ensuring that President Andry Rajoelina “remains in the country” and “continues to manage national affairs”.
Saturday’s demonstration in the capital Antananarivo was one of the biggest since the protest movement erupted on September 25, sparked by anger over power and water shortages.
Police used stun grenades and tear gas to try to disperse the large crowds of several thousand people, but some left as soldiers from the CAPSAT contingent of administrative and technical officers rode into the city on army vehicles to join the demonstrators.
They were welcomed with cheers from protesters who called out “Thank you!” to the uniformed troops, some waving Madagascar flags.
The departure of the police and other security forces opened the way for the crowds to reach the symbolic Place du 13 Mai in front of Antananarivo’s city hall.
CAPSAT Colonel Michael Randrianirina told AFP at the site that police had shot at the soldiers as they passed barracks, hitting one and a journalist. “The journalist was hit in the buttock, while the soldier died,” he said.
A member of a section of the Malagasy army walks surrounded by protesters celebrating their arrival as they head to City Hall to address the population after securing the area following clashes between demonstrators and security forces during protests calling for the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina in Antananarivo, on October 11, 2025. Groups of Madagascar soldiers joined thousands of protestors in the capital on October 11, 2025, after announcing they would refuse any orders to shoot demonstrators.
Fresh youth-led demonstrations in Antananarivo drew large crowds in one of the biggest gatherings since a protest movement erupted on the Indian Ocean island on September 25.
After police used stun grenades and tear gas to try to disperse the demonstrators, soldiers arrived at the heart of the gathering near the Lake Anosy area where they were welcomed with cheers. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP)Members of a section of the Malagasy army ride an armoured vehicle surrounded by protesters celebrating their arrival as they head to City Hall to address the population after securing the area following clashes between demonstrators and security forces during protests calling for the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina in Antananarivo, on October 11, 2025. Groups of Madagascar soldiers joined thousands of protestors in the capital on October 11, 2025, after announcing they would refuse any orders to shoot demonstrators.
Fresh youth-led demonstrations in Antananarivo drew large crowds in one of the biggest gatherings since a protest movement erupted on the Indian Ocean island on September 25.
After police used stun grenades and tear gas to try to disperse the demonstrators, soldiers arrived at the heart of the gathering near the Lake Anosy area where they were welcomed with cheers. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP)
“For all those who sent the gendarmes here, starting with the head of gendarmerie, the prime minister, the president… they must leave power,” he told AFP.
Members of a Madagascar army contingent stand in a road near their camp near Antananarivo on October 11, 2025. A Madagascar army contingent near the capital on October 11, 2025 called on soldiers and security units to “join forces” and “refuse orders to shoot” at protesters, while several thousand marched in the capital.
The United Nations on October 10, 2025 called on the Madagascar authorities to avoid unnecessary force against protesters, after several were injured in clashes with police the day before. (Photo by RIJASOLO / AFP)Members of a Madagascar army contingent of the CAPSAT regiment who left the camp to reach the 13 Mai plaza interact with protesters in Antananarivo on October 11, 2025. Groups of Madagascar soldiers joined thousands of protestors in the capital on October 11, 2025, after announcing they would refuse any orders to shoot demonstrators.
Fresh youth-led demonstrations in Antananarivo drew large crowds in one of the biggest gatherings since a protest movement erupted on the Indian Ocean island on September 25.
After police used stun grenades and tear gas to try to disperse the demonstrators, soldiers arrived at the heart of the gathering near the Lake Anosy area where they were welcomed with cheers. (Photo by RIJASOLO / AFP)
According to local media, the emergency services reported two dead and 26 injured on Saturday.
AFP reporters heard shots being fired during the demonstration, and shots and explosions could still be heard in Antananarivo’s centre while protesters continued celebrating on the square as night fell.
– ‘Refuse to shoot’ –
Before leaving their camp at Soanierana on the outskirts of the city, the soldiers called on the army and security units not to shoot protesters.
“Let us join forces, military, gendarmes and police, and refuse to be paid to shoot our friends, our brothers and our sisters,” Randrianirina said, surrounded by soldiers in uniform, in a video shared on social media.
The military base in Soanierana in 2009 led a mutiny in a popular uprising that brought Rajoelina to power.
Members of a section of the Malagasy army ride on a pickup truck to secure the area around Lake Anosy as protesters celebrate their arrival following clashes between demonstrators and security forces during protests calling for the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina in Antananarivo, on October 11, 2025. Groups of Madagascar soldiers joined thousands of protestors in the capital on October 11, 2025, after announcing they would refuse any orders to shoot demonstrators.
Fresh youth-led demonstrations in Antananarivo drew large crowds in one of the biggest gatherings since a protest movement erupted on the Indian Ocean island on September 25.
After police used stun grenades and tear gas to try to disperse the demonstrators, soldiers arrived at the heart of the gathering near the Lake Anosy area where they were welcomed with cheers. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP)Malagasy security forces look on as protesters march during a protest calling for constitutional reforms and the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina in Antsiranana on October 8, 2025. (Photo by FITA / AFP)
It was unclear how many soldiers joined their call Saturday.
The Gen Z movement leading the near-daily protests on Saturday night called for Rajoelina to resign, in a list of written demands that also included the “initiation of a democratic national dialogue and “universal access to essential services” from water to employment.
“We firmly reaffirm that we do not seek a coup d’État nor the seizure of power by force,” the statement said, thanking the CAPSAT contingent for a “powerful and historic gesture”.
“We don’t have any weapons. We try to protect ourselves with stones from the tear gas they throw at us. And now, we really feel a sense of pride,” said Lucie, a 24-year-old protester, who gave only her first name.
With frequent power and water cuts, life in Madagascar was “hell”, said one young man on condition of anonymity.
“And once you ask for what you want, they give you tear gas. There is no freedom,” he told AFP.
– Violent crackdown –
The United Nations has said that at least 22 people were killed in the first days of the protests that started on September 25.
Rajoelina has disputed the toll, saying last week there were “12 confirmed deaths and all of these individuals were looters and vandals”.
Madagascar is one of the world’s poorest countries and has undergone frequent popular uprisings since its independence from France in 1960.
Faced with near daily protests since September 25, Rajoelina fired his government on September 30, appointing an army general as prime minister, but the move failed to quell the uprising.
yarkarkara
