
Madagascar's military seized power from the civilian government on Tuesday, a high-ranking commander announced after President Andry Rajoelina fled the sprawling Indian Ocean island country for his safety.
The ouster of Rajoelina, who himself came to power as a transitional leader in a military-backed coup in 2009, capped weeks of protests led by young people fed up with power and water outages, persistent poverty and a lack of opportunities, among other issues.