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Madagascar army surrounds palace | Madagascar army surrounds palace |
(10 minutes later) | |
Gunfire has broken out in the centre of Madagascar's capital Antananarivo after the army surrounded President Marc Ravalomanana's palace. | |
The move came after opposition leader Andry Rajoelina called for the security forces to arrest the president. | The move came after opposition leader Andry Rajoelina called for the security forces to arrest the president. |
The armed forces head said it was 99% behind the opposition. The president is not thought to be in the palace. | The armed forces head said it was 99% behind the opposition. The president is not thought to be in the palace. |
Protests, looting and a mutiny has resulted from the unrest that has left at least 100 people dead since January. | |
President Ravalomanana is thought to be in another palace, Iavoloha, which is about 10km (six miles) from the city centre. | |
Earlier on Monday, the embattled president again proposed a referendum to resolve the seven-week political crisis. | |
But the opposition leader rejected the plebiscite plan and called for Mr Ravalomanana to be arrested. | |
Mr Rajoelina said: "The people are thirsty for change and that's why we won't have a referendum and will put our transitional government in place." | |
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Antananarivo says Mr Rajoelina has wrapped himself in the cloak of democracy, but he wants to replace an elected head of state without going to a ballot. |