Dissident troops have moved into Madagascar’s capital city, Antananarivo. Given the role that the military is beginning to play in the country’s crisis, the emergence of an oppositional force within the military seems to me to spell potential disaster. At the heart of the current crisis is the ongoing power struggle between President Marc Ravalomanana and former Antananarivo mayor Andy Rajoelina, a conflict that has lasted for weeks, has intensified recently, and that shows no sign of abating. The original military involvement was bad enough. But now within the military if factions are taking sides, things could get very ugly indeed.
