Madagascar?s president has fled the African nation, the head of the opposition and other officials said on Monday, the second time that young protesters have toppled a government in weeks of worldwide Gen Z unrest.

Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, leader of the opposition in parliament, told Reuters that President Andry Rajoelina left Madagascar on Sunday after units of the army defected and joined the protesters.

?We called the staff of the presidency, and they confirmed that he left the country,? Randrianasoloniaiko said, adding that Rajoelina?s current whereabouts were unknown.

The president?s office did not reply to requests for comment.

In an address to the nation broadcast on Facebook late Monday, Rajoelina said he had to move to a safe location to protect his life. He did not disclose his whereabouts but appeared defiant, saying that he would not ?allow Madagascar to be destroyed.?

The diplomatic source said after the speech that Rajoelina was refusing to step down.

President left on French military plane

A military source told Reuters that Rajoelina flew out of Madagascar, a former French colony, on a French military aircraft on Sunday. French radio RFI said he had struck a deal with President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron, speaking in Egypt after a summit on the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, said he could not immediately confirm reports that France had helped Rajoelina flee the country. He added that constitutional order must be preserved in Madagascar and that while France understood the grievances of the country?s youth, those grievances should not be exploited by military factions.

The military source said that a French Army Casa aircraft landed in Madagascar?s Sainte Marie airport on Sunday. ?Five minutes later, a helicopter arrived and transferred its passenger into the Casa,? the source said, adding that Rajoelina was the passenger.

The anger mirrors recent protests against ruling elites in countries including Nepal, where the prime minister was forced to resign last month, and Morocco.

Lost support of army, gendarmerie

Rajoelina had appeared increasingly isolated after losing the support of CAPSAT, an elite unit which had helped him seize power in a 2009 coup.

CAPSAT joined the protesters over the weekend, saying it refused to fire on them and escorting thousands of demonstrators in the main square of the capital Antananarivo.

On Monday, a faction of the paramilitary gendarmerie supporting the protests also took control of the gendarmerie at a formal ceremony in the presence of senior government officials, a Reuters witness said.

The president of the Senate ? a focus of public anger during the protests ? was relieved of his functions, the Senate said in a statement, and Jean Andr? Ndremanjary was appointed on a temporary basis.

In the absence of a president, the leader of the Senate takes the post until elections are held.

?The president must quit?

On Monday, thousands of people gathered in a square in the capital, shouting ?the president must quit now?.

Hotel worker Adrianarivony Fanomegantsoa, 22, told Reuters his 300,000-ariary ($67) monthly salary was barely enough to cover food, explaining his reasons for joining the protests.

At least 22 people have been killed in clashes between protesters and the security forces since September 25, according to the UN.

Madagascar, where the median age is younger than 20, has a population of about 30 million ? three-quarters of whom live in poverty, with GDP per capita plunging 45% between independence in 1960 and 2020, according to the World Bank.

While the country is best known for producing most of the world?s vanilla, other exports including nickel, cobalt, textiles and shrimp are also vital to foreign earnings and employment.

In what appeared to have been one of his last acts before leaving the country, Rajoelina issued pardons to several people on Sunday, including two French nationals, according to an internal document seen by Reuters whose contents were verified by a presidency source.

The two French nationals, Paul Maillot Rafanoharana and Francois Marc Philippe, were convicted of undermining state security in connection with an attempted coup in 2021. (CNN, but headline rejigged)

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