Madagascar detains French ex-serviceman over alleged destabilisation plot

Madagascar has detained a French serviceman, Guy Baret, over an alleged plot to destabilise the island. Baret has been placed in pretrial detention at Tsiafahy maximum-security prison. Other alleged accomplices, including a Malagasy army officer, Colonel Patrick Rakotomamonjy, have been implicated in the plot. Prosecutors have charged the suspects with spreading false information, plotting to sabotage infrastructure, harbouring wanted individuals, and criminal conspiracy.