The African Union said on Monday that a push by the opposition in Madagascar to remove the president was an attempted coup d'etat and called on the people of the Indian Ocean island to respect their constitution.

"The situation in Madagascar is an internal conflict. It is an attempted coup d'etat. We condemn the attempted coup d'etat," Edouard Alo-Glele, Benin's envoy to Ethiopia, told reporters after a meeting of the AU's Peace and Security Council.

The condemnation followed opposition leader Andry Rajoelina's call for President Marc Ravalomanana's arrest, during a rally in the capital Antananarivo on Monday.

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"I ask the army and police and all those who can to carry out the minister of justice's demand, because Andry Rajoelina is impatient to get into office," he told his supporters.

 
However, the new army chief Andre Andriarijaona, who is currently leading the soldiers who mutinied on Sunday, told FRANCE 24's special correspondent Cyril Vanier that the army would not issue the arrest warrant. "According to the new army chief, their role is not to arrest the people, it's to stand by the people," Vanier reported.
 
'No need to hold a referendum'

Earlier on Monday, Rajoelina rejected Ravalomanana's offer to hold a referendum to solve the political stand-off.

Ask our correspondent FRANCE 24 Observers: Why Ravalomanana is out Rajoelina appointed president by Constitutional Court

"The referendum is already done. The people have already expressed themselves. There is no need to hold a referendum," he told national television prior to an opposition rally. "The resignation of Ravalomanana is the solution."

The embattled president on Sunday dismissed rival Rajoelina’s call to quit office, saying he would face a referendum if necessary. The head of state, however, gave no further details as to what type of poll he would agree to participate in. Negotiations between the two sides ground to a halt weeks ago.

The tense stand-off continued as loud explosions were heard near the presidential palace early on Monday. Mutinous soldiers fired three times in the direction of the presidential palace, special correspondent Cyril Vanier told FRANCE 24, but missed by several hundred metres.

The attack may have been an attempt to intimidate the president’s followers, hundreds of whom have been expressing their support by standing outside the palace.

Opposition claims control of army

Thirty-four-year-old Rajoelina, former mayor of the capital Antananarivo, set up a parallel government in February in a bid to destabilise the government.

On Saturday, the opposition claimed to have toppled the government and taken control of the army.

In response, Madagascar's army said it would not intervene in the tussle, but the army's chief of staff, Colonel Andre Andriarijaona, said his forces could end up supporting the opposition "if it would restore calm."

Rajoelina called on Ravalomanana to relinquish power, but the increasingly isolated president said he would never give up power voluntarily.

African Union officials called an emergency meeting to discuss the political crisis on Monday morning.

The power struggle since early 2009 has killed at least 135 people and battered the Indian Ocean island’s economy.