Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina will address the nation on Monday, his office said, after he lost the support of a key army unit that joined thousands of youths protesting against corruption and poverty and demanding his resignation.

Demonstrations in the former French colony erupted on September 25 over water and power shortages but have quickly escalated into an uprising over broader grievances, including bad governance and lack of basic services.

Rajoelina warned on Sunday of an attempt to seize power in the island nation off the coast of southern Africa after losing the support of CAPSAT, an elite unit which had helped him seize power in a 2009 coup, following more than two weeks of Gen Z protests.

PRESIDENT'S WHEREABOUTS ARE UNKNOWN

Rajoelina has not been seen in public since last week. The country's public security minister said on Monday that she did not know his whereabouts.

The president's spokeswoman said on Sunday that he was still in the capital, Antananarivo, in response to rumours that he had fled the country.

CAPSAT said over the weekend it was taking charge of the military and appointed a new army chief. 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 André 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.

GEN Z PROTESTS MIRROR THOSE IN NEPAL AND KENYA

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.

"In 16 years the president and his government have done nothing except enrich themselves while the people stay poor. And the youth, the Gen Z, suffer the most," he said.

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

The anger mirrors recent demonstrations in countries including Morocco, Nepal and Kenya against ruling elites, with protesters sporting T-shirts and flags with the same symbol - a skull with a straw hat from the Japanese manga series "One Piece" - used by their counterparts in Asia and Latin America.

The protests have spiralled into the most serious challenge to Rajoelina's rule since his re-election in 2023.

General Nonos Mbina Mamelison, who took over as the head of the gendarmerie on Monday, told reporters when asked about who was in command of the unit: "Exceptional situation, exceptional measures. And all the orders come from the gendarmerie command."

Watching his appointment was the minister in charge of the army and General Demosthene Pikulas, the new army chief of staff appointed by CAPSAT at the weekend.

Madagascar, a former French colony where the median age is less 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 shrimps are also vital to foreign earnings and employment.