Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina on Sunday raised the alarm over “an attempt to seize power” and oust him from office as a faction of the military declared support for protesters calling for his resignation.

“There is an attempt to seize power at this time in the territory of the republic, in complete violation of the constitution and democratic principles,” Mr Rajoelina said in a statement.

Mr Rajoelina, who has been under pressure to resign amid protests rocking the country for weeks, condemned “in the strongest possible terms” moves to oust him from office.

Hours after Mr Rajoelina’s statement, CAPSAT, a unit of Madagascar’s army that played a key role in the 2019 coup, in a video on Sunday said, “From now on, all orders of the Malagasy army—whether land, air, or naval—will originate from CAPSAT headquarters.”

CAPSAT had also warned that security forces “must not blindly follow unlawful orders” and reminded them that they are “from the people and must serve the people.”

On Saturday, the army unit declared its support for protesters calling for the resignation of Mr Rajoelina.

Protests sparked by water and power shortages on September 25 have lingered for three consecutive weeks, evolving into calls for the president’s resignation despite police clampdown and Mr Rajoelina’s appeal for dialogue.

Amid sustained protests, Mr Rajoelina, who had sacked his cabinet members last Monday to appease the protesters, begged for one year to fix power and water shortages, promising to resign should the problems persist.

“I swear that if power cuts persist in the capital within a year, I will resign,” Mr Rajoelina said during a town hall meeting with various groups on Wednesday.

But protesters have remained on the streets of Madagascar, disrupting commercial and other activities and insisting that the president resign.

As a result of the police’s brutal crackdown on protesters, over 20 people have been killed since the protests started on September 25.

In a statement, Volker Türk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, lamented the death of at least 22 people and a hundred injured during the protests.

Mr Türk expressed “shock at the violent response by security forces to the ongoing protests. The authorities must ensure respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”