Rebels say deployed tanks in Madagascar capital

By Richard Lough

Dissident soldiers said they deployed tanks in Madagascar's capital on Friday and that they would use them to fight any mercenaries hired in a power struggle that has killed 135 people on the Indian Ocean island.

The troops have broken away from the traditionally neutral security forces, saying they wanted to bring order to a country torn by a stand-off between President Marc Ravalomanana and opposition leader Andry Rajoelina.

Ravalomanana urged city residents to organise themselves to repel the mutineers and defend the presidential palace. But the U.S. ambassador said a coup looked unlikely.

In the worst civil unrest for years, it is unclear who controls the government or military. The crisis is crippling the country's $390 million-a-year tourism industry.

Many in the opposition fear the president will bring in mercenaries to defend his hold on power despite the dissident soldiers denying that they are taking orders from Rajoelina.

"We moved tanks into Tana during the middle of the night. They're not on the streets but at a secret location," said Colonel Noel Rakotonandrasa, a spokesman for the mutineers, adding that it was just a precautionary tactic.

"They are to intercept any mercenaries who come here."

The president's office denied it had called upon foreign mercenaries to attack the army. It said two South Africans and two Israeli advisers were in Madagascar to show the security forces how to use new anti-riot equipment.

"THWART THE MUTINEERS"

Rajoelina, 34, a former disc jockey, has been under U.N. protection since fleeing attempts to arrest him last week. He calls the president a dictator and has tapped into deep public resentment at Ravalomanana's failure to tackle poverty.

Critics call Rajoelina a maverick and troublemaker, and analysts are unsure whether he has over-played his hand or is riding on a popular wave that could carry him to power.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said that Madagascar's political crisis had "entered a dangerous phase."

"A national conference that includes representation from all sides in this dispute is the best mechanism to move the country forward," he said in an email statement. "It promises a frank exchange of views under the auspices of the United Nations facilitator."

Madagascar's capital, a city of faded French grandeur perched on steep slopes, is one of Africa's poorest where many live without electricity or running water and eke out a grim existence on less than two dollars a day.

Despite widespread poverty -- Madagascar is ranked 143 out of 179 countries according to the UN's Human Development Index -- the price of rice has risen over the last three years and the cost of cooking oil has doubled since the end of last year.

On Wednesday, the leader of the widening mutiny within the army named himself chief of staff, ousting the country's top general who had given the political rivals 72 hours -- until Friday -- to find a solution or face military intervention.

Rakotonandrasa did not say how many tanks had been sent into the city, calling it a "tactical secret". He denied rumours they were deployed near the presidential palace and said the rebels had no intention of attacking the building.

That assurance seemed to do little to placate the president.

"The president appeals to the people of Iavoloha (a city suburb) to organise themselves to thwart all movements of mutinous troops towards the palace to protect the president and the palace," said a statement read on his private radio station.

Rakotonandrasa also denied taking orders from the opposition: "We are there to get the country out of this crisis. The politicians have not fulfilled their responsibilities."

"We do not have the direct backing of Rajoelina, we have the backing of the people. We are not taking orders from Rajoelina."

U.S. Ambassador Niels Marquardt and other diplomats held private talks on Thursday with the officers leading the rebels.

"The colonels now in charge say this as clearly as possible: we are not here to do a coup d'etat," Marquardt told Reuters.

Home  >  Africa & Middle East

Latest News

Pavel Rahman/The Associated Press
An unusually savage mutiny by border guards widened the gulf between Hasina Wazed's fragile elected administration and the military.
In Opinion: How to leave
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invites Tehran to a meeting to be held on Afghaninistan.
Columnist Nicholas D. Kristof updates the story of Suad, a refugee from Darfur now living in Eastern Chad.
Parties on the political left faced a hard time at the polls in Israel's general election.
The IHT's executive editor, Alison Smale, discusses the week in world news.
The IHT's executive editor, Alison Smale, discusses the week in world news.
Ahmad al-Shugairi is providing one of the main avenues in which many young people in the Middle East are exper...
Israel rejects calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and stepped up preparations for a ground offensive.
As 2008 draws to a close, Iraqi forces prepare to take over from coalition forces on Jan. 1.
Boys coming of age in the refugee camps in Darfur, Sudan, constitute a rising political force.
East Africa Bureau Chief Jeffrey Gettleman reports on efforts to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden.