Madagascar's opposition movement said its leader Andry Rajoelina, whose protests precipitated the president's fall, would lead a transitional authority. Military chiefs told Reuters they would allow that despite disquiet abroad.

"We can say that we are free. There is a lot of work that awaits us. It is the path that Madagascar must take," Rajoelina said, taking over Ravalomanana's city-centre offices.
Aides of the president said he had handed over to navy admiral Hyppolite Ramaroson, Madagascar's highest ranking officer. But the army chief of staff said he favoured Rajoelina, 34, a former disc jockey and sacked mayor of Antananarivo.

"If we go with the vice-admiral we will throw ourselves into another crisis," Colonel Andre Ndriarijaona told Reuters.

The head of the paramilitary gendarmerie echoed his view. And military heads summoned journalists to a camp outside the capital for an announcement widely expected to be a ratification of support for Rajoelina.

The African Union, which opposes any unconstitutional transfer of power on a continent only too familiar with bloody uprisings, said the military should not hand over to the opposition.

Some foreign powers, including the European Union, had warned they would cut aid to anyone coming to power by force.

Weeks of turmoil and protests in Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island, have killed 135 people, crippled the $390 million-a-year tourism industry and scared foreign investors in the important mining and oil exploration sectors.