Army, police clash in capital of Madagascar, tense since coup

Army, police clash in Madagascar capital

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Soldiers and police clashed in what a police colonel described as a failed mutiny Thursday in Madagascar’s capital, leaving one police officer dead and five wounded, officials said.

The fighting broke out after hundreds of demonstrators tried to converge on a police barracks to protest alleged abuses by the national police. The police used heavy vehicles to block roads outside their barracks.

Protesters unable to reach the barracks cheered the sounds of fighting in the distance as shots and explosions rang out. The fighting died down after a few hours, though the sounds of stun grenades being used to clear protesters from the streets could be heard sporadically in the afternoon.

Police Col. Richard Ravalomanana said 21 police mutineers involved remained holed up in the barracks. He said one police officer was killed and another police officer and one soldier were wounded.

Claude Rakotondranja, president of the Madagascar Red Cross, said three civilians were wounded.

Madagascar has been tense since Andry Rajoelina, a former disc jockey and mayor of the capital, ousted elected President Marc Ravalomanana in March 2009 with the military’s backing after a campaign of street protests.

Rajoelina has resisted international mediation efforts, and the military has shown signs of cooling toward him in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, Rajoelina promised in a nationally televised address that he would not run in presidential elections he has set for November. The pledge may have been an attempt to reassure critics he is committed to democracy, but it did not address international calls for a power-sharing government to oversee elections.

Rajoelina has scheduled talks to draft a proposed constitution by month’s end, followed by a constitutional referendum August 12, parliamentary elections Sept. 30 and presidential elections Nov. 26.

Impoverished Madagascar lies off the southeastern coast of Africa, in the Indian Ocean.