In one tumultuous day, Madagascar's top generals handed over control of this Indian Ocean island nation to the opposition leader March 17, hours after the president stepped down and tried to put the military in charge.

In a ceremony broadcast from a military camp in the capital Antananarivo, Vice Admiral Hyppolite Rarison Ramaroson said he and two other generals rejected President Marc Ravalomanana's attempt to transfer power to a military directorate.

Instead, Ramaroson said the military was installing the president's bitter rival, opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, as the country's leader.