Rajoelina's move to flee the country and dissolve the parliament from exile has created a political crisis amid unrest.

CAPSAT is the same powerful military unit that turned against the government in 2009, leading to Rajoelina first coming to power. The unit had said this weekend it was taking charge of all of Madagascar’s armed forces, and new heads of the military and the gendarmerie security forces have been appointed.

Madagascar’s military has taken charge of the Indian Ocean island, an army colonel said on Tuesday, after President Andry Rajoelina fled abroad during a standoff with youth-led protesters and security forces.

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina said in a national broadcast Monday night that he had been “forced to find a safe place to protect my life” after an elite military unit joined anti-government protests, but he did not step down.

The uprising started weeks ago when protests erupted over chronic water and electricity outages. It snowballed into larger dissatisfaction with Rajoelina, alleged government corruption and poverty, which affects about 75% of the country of roughly 30 million people, according to the World Bank.

The move followed weeks of intense and deadly protests against the government of President Andry Rajoelina, who said he would defy growing calls to resign.

The army has taken over after Gen Z-led protests over power outages and water shortages grew into wider discontent.