Madagascar’s President ousted in military coup

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina was toppled Tuesday in a military coup that capped weeks of youth protests over poverty, power outages and a lack of opportunity in the Indian Ocean island country.

- 

Right after parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina, who fled the country fearing for his safety, the leader of Madagascar’s elite CAPSAT military unit said the armed forces would form a council made up of officers from the military and police, or gendarmerie, and would appoint a prime minister to “quickly” form a civilian government.

“We are taking power” Col. Michael Randrianirina told reporters in front of a ceremonial presidential palace in the capital, Antananarivo, as protesters celebrated the news with soldiers. He said the constitution and High Constitutional Court’s powers had been suspended, and that a referendum would be held in two years, though he didn't go into detail.