Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has fled the country amid lingering protests supported by a faction of the country’s army.

Mr Rajoelina, who warned of an attempt to seize power, fled the country on Sunday as protesters intensified their demands for his resignation, Reuters reported on Monday.

Citing a military source, the newspaper said, “Rajoelina flew out of the country on a French military aircraft on Sunday. French radio RFI reported that he had struck a deal with President Emmanuel Macron.”

It added: “A French Army Casa aircraft landed in Madagascar’s Sainte Marie airport on Sunday. Five minutes later, a helicopter arrived and transferred its passenger into the Casa,” the source said, adding that Rajoelina was the passenger. French authorities have yet to officially confirm the report.

Mr Rajoelina’s planned broadcast for Monday has been postponed twice, while his whereabouts remain unclear.

For three consecutive weeks, protests sparked by water and power shortages on September 25 have continued, morphing into calls for the president’s resignation despite police clampdowns and Mr Rajoelina’s appeal for dialogue.

Before reports of his flight emerged, Mr Rajoelina had warned that “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,” on Sunday.

CAPSAT, a unit of Madagascar’s army that played a key role in the 2009 coup that first brought Mr Rajoelina to power, had on Sunday declared support for protesters calling for his resignation.

The soldiers also warned that security forces “must not blindly follow unlawful orders,” reminding them that they are “from the people and must serve the people.”

Amid sustained protests, Mr Rajoelina, who had sacked his cabinet members to appease the demonstrators, begged for one year to fix power and water shortages, promising to resign if the problems persisted.

“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 despite his plea, disrupting commercial and other activities while insisting that the president must step down.

As a result of a brutal police crackdown on protesters, more than 20 people have been killed since the demonstrations began on September 25.

Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement, lamented the deaths of at least 22 people and more than 100 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.”