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ANTANANARIVO: Madagascar’s embattled President Andry Rajoelina said Monday he was sheltering in a “safe space” after an attempt on his life and called for the constitution to be respected as pressure mounted for him to resign.
The twice-delayed speech marked his first public address since a mutinous army unit backed anti-government protests afollowed by reports he had fled the country off the east coast of Africa.
“Since 25 September, there have been attempts on my life and coup attempts. A group of military personnel and politicians planned to assassinate me,” the 51-year-old leader said in a live address.
“I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life,” he said, without revealing his location.
The protests, led by mostly young demonstrators, initially focused on chronic power and water cuts in the impoverished country but developed into a broader anti-government movement that called for Rajoelina to resign.
Rajoelina, a former mayor who came to power on the back of a coup, on Monday called for the constitution to be respected to resolve the deepening political crisis.
“There is only one way to resolve these issues; that is to respect the constitution in force in the country,” he said.
Radio France Internationale said Rajoelina left Madagascar on a French military plane at the weekend but French officials did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for confirmation.
French President Emmanuel Macron also refused to confirm this.

LONDON: Dozens of top officials from Middle East and European nations huddled Monday with leading global financial institutions for talks in the UK on rebuilding the devastated Gaza Strip.
Far from a high-profile Gaza summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the UK’s foreign ministry quietly brought together Middle East and European officials at an isolated mansion deep in the southern English countryside.
The aim of the three-day conference was to start the “crucial planning and coordination efforts for postwar Gaza” which would be Palestinian-led, the UK prime minister’s office said in a statement.
“We must be ready to act — to clear rubble, rebuild homes and set up infrastructure, restoring access to education and health care,” junior foreign minister Hamish Falconer added in a statement.
“We know the scale of the task. We know how urgent it is, and how complex it will be,” he added, highlighting it “will take years and cost billions.”
The Israeli assault on Gaza — triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel — has left much of the Palestinian territory in ruins and most of its population displaced.
The UK government said the talks in Wilton Park, West Sussex, which is managed by the Foreign Office, brought together “representatives from businesses, civil society and governments, to convene crucial planning and coordination efforts for postwar Gaza.”
The Palestinian Authority was represented along with officials from countries such as Jordan, ������Ƶ, Germany and Italy, the UK prime minister’s office said.
Officials from the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development were also attending to support what Falconer called an Arab Reconstruction Plan.
“We must also lay the groundwork for long-term economic development,” Falconer said, insisting that “Gaza and Palestine more broadly, has real economic potential.”
The talks aimed to examine how to “unlock the vast resources needed, not just through traditional donor finance, but by thinking creatively to bring in private capital,” he said.
The UK was well-placed to help, with “deep expertise in private investment and strong links to the City of London,” he added.