Several arrested over plot to kill Madagascar president, attorney general says

 Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina attends a meeting to discuss the 20th replenishment of the World Bank’s International Development Association, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast July 15, 2021. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

ANTANANARIVO — Madagascan authorities arrested several people, including foreign nationals, on Tuesday on suspicion of plotting to kill the president, the attorney general said.

Andry Rajoelina was sworn in as president of the Indian Ocean island country in 2019 after a hard-fought election and a constitutional court challenge from his rival.

“According to the evidence in our possession, these individuals had devised a plan for the elimination and neutralization of a number of people including the head of state,” the attorney general said in a statement.

It added that investigations were under way and further details could not be disclosed.

The extent of the plot, or how far advanced, was not immediately clear.

The statement did not specify the nationality of the foreign nationals.