Madagascar soldiers mutiny
ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Mutiny broke out in a Madagascar military camp outside the capital Antananarivo on Sunday as the island's opposition leader spent a second day in hiding after a crackdown on his anti-government movement.
Dissenting soldiers patrolled one of the main arterial roads heading out of the city towards the presidential palace after rumours the presidential guard would attack Camp Capsat circulated.
A power struggle between the capital's sacked mayor Andry Rajoelina and President Marc Ravalomanana has ignited weeks of civil unrest, killing around 135 people and crippling the island's $390 million tourism sector.
"We are with the people. That is enough killing people like that. We will defend our camp from all attack," said one soldier beside a roadblock, on condition of anonymity.
About 30 armed military personnel manned the road. Some 600 soldiers are based at Capsat -- it is not known how many soldiers have mutinied in total.
Madagascar has opened its doors to major foreign multinationals including Rio Tinto and Sherritt International which are looking to extract cobalt, nickel and Ilmenite.
Rajoelina, a former disc jockey turned firebrand politician, has accused Ravalomanana of being a dictator.
Critics label 34-year-old Rajoelina, who has pulled out of negotiations to resolve the deadlock, a maverick.
Analysts say the armed forces' stance will be critical to the final outcome of the crisis. The army has earned a reputation for remaining neutral during previous crises on the politically volatile island.
The security forces killed at least 28 people early February when opposition supporters marched on a second presidential palace in the city centre. The military also regained control of several ministries seized by the opposition last month.
The military's top brass have said they are "ready to fulfil their duties" if there is no political solution.
On Sunday, a number of rebelling soldiers, including officers, said they could not accept the killing of innocent civilians.
"We are going to prove we are not the killers of the Malagasy people," said another soldier.
In a statement read on state TV, the director of presidential security said there would be no attack on the military camp.
"These rumours released by certain media outlets are not true. We have no intention of doing that," said General Patrick Randriamomory.
SECURE LOCATION
Rajoelina spent a second day in hiding at an undisclosed location on Sunday following a heightened military presence around his house in recent days.
"He is in a secure location. He is still in the capital, he won't abandon the people," said a close aide, on condition of anonymity, dispelling rumours Rajoelina might have left Antananarivo and even the country.
Security forces have thwarted anti-government supporters from gathering in the city's May 13 Plaza -- epicentre of popular rebellions since the Indian Ocean island won independence from France in 1972 -- and on Saturday night took Rajoelina's private TV and radio station off air.
Opposition sources said the military destroyed equipment and took what they could.
It was the initial banning of Viva TV last December, after the station aired an interview with exiled former president Didier Ratsiraka, which triggered the political crisis.
Ravalomanana, 59, a self-made millionaire who founded his business empire after first selling yoghurt from a bicycle, has denied abusing state power and said he will fulfil his mandate which expires in 2011.
(Writing by Richard Lough; editing by ????)