Il Nuovo Postiglione - Madagascar soldiers join protestors

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.

Protesters called out "Thank you!" to the soldiers, some of whom were waving Madagascar flags, the images showed.

At a meeting at an army barracks on the outskirts of the city earlier, the soldiers said they would not take action against the protestors.

"Let us join forces, military, gendarmes and police, and refuse to be paid to shoot our friends, our brothers and our sisters," the soldiers at the base in Soanierana district said in a video posted on social media.

They called on soldiers at the airport to "prevent all aircraft from taking off" and those in other camps to "refuse orders to shoot your friends".

"Close the gates and await our instructions," they said. "Do not obey orders from your superiors. Point your weapons at those who order you to fire on your comrades-in-arms, because they will not take care of our families if we die."

The demonstrations on Saturday were the largest in several days in the youth-led movement that was sparked by anger over power and water shortages and evolved into a broader anti-government movement.

It was unclear how many soldiers had joined the call on Saturday.

In 2009, the military base in Soanierana led a mutiny in a popular uprising that brought the current president, Andry Rajoelina, to power.

The newly appointed minister of the armed forces called on troops to "remain calm" in a press conference Saturday .

"We call on our brothers who disagree with us to prioritise dialogue," Minister General Deramasinjaka Manantsoa Rakotoarivelo said.

"The Malagasy army remains a mediator and constitutes the nation's last line of defence," he said.

- Violent crackdown -

Several people were injured on Thursday as security forces dispersed protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and armoured vehicles.

Videos of police violence went viral on social media, including a video of one man being left unconscious on the ground after he was chased and severely beaten by security forces, which AFP reporters also witnessed.

The United Nations on Friday reacted by calling on authorities to "desist from unnecessary force and to uphold the rights to free association and peaceful assembly".

The UN has said that at least 22 people were killed in the first days of the protests that started on 25 September at the call of a youth-led movement called "Gen Z".

President Andry Rajoelina has disputed the toll, saying on Wednesday that there were "12 confirmed deaths and all of these individuals were looters and vandals".

Rajoelina initially adopted a conciliatory tone and sacked his entire government in response to the protests.

But he has since doubled down, appointing a military officer as prime minister on October 6 and picking the first members of his new cabinet from among the armed forces, public security and armed police, announcing that the country "no longer needs disturbances".

Among the world's poorest countries, Madagascar has undergone frequent popular uprisings since independence in 1960, including mass protests in 2009 that forced then-president Marc Ravalomanana from power as the military installed Rajoelina for his first term.

He won re-election in 2018 and again in 2023 in contested polls boycotted by the opposition.

M.Lombardi--INP