THE Madagascan army says it has now taken control after the National Assembly voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina.

President Rajoelina had issued an order dissolving the parliament in the Indian Ocean nation, after a military-supported “Gen Z” rebellion led him to flee the country and go into hiding.

President Rajoelina issued a decree for the National Assembly to be dissolved immediately, according to a statement posted on the Madagascar presidency’s Facebook page.

The president’s whereabouts are unknown after an elite military unit joined youth-led anti-government protests over the weekend and called for him to step down.

President Rajoelina said in a speech broadcast on social media on Monday night that he left the country for a “safe place” in fear for his life.

He did not reveal his whereabouts after he was reportedly evacuated by the French government after assurances were received that Paris was not intervening in Madagascar.

His move to dissolve the National Assembly came while lawmakers were meeting to discuss possible impeachment proceedings. By dissolving the National Assembly, Mr Rajoelina effectively blocked those.

There has been no immediate response to the president’s move by the military.

Mr Rajoelina himself first came to power in 2009 as the leader of a transitional government following a coup. He has faced pressure to resign from weeks of anti-government protests against chronic water and electricity outages, poverty and alleged corruption and embezzlement of public money by government officials and their families and associates.

The protesters have said they were inspired by other Gen Z-led movements that toppled leaders in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The protests started last month but a turning point came on Saturday when soldiers from the elite CAPSAT military unit turned against President Rajoelina and joined the protests calling for him and government ministers to step down.

The unit says it is in charge of all of Madagascar’s armed forces, and new heads of the military and the gendarmerie security forces have been appointed.

President Rajoelina said there had been “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force.”

In his speech from a secret location late on Monday, the president called for dialogue “to find a way out of this situation” and said the constitution should be respected, pushing back against demands that he step down.