New Terra: 'Military in control of Capital'

Opposition figures issued a joint statement before the coup.

The Imperial Military has seized control of the Imperial Palace, announcing a roadmap for the country's political future that will be implemented by a special committee.

According to a senior member of the Diplomatic Bureau, the Emperor has been confined to the Palace with top aides.

The Imperial High Command issued a declaration on Wednesday suspending the constitution as well as dissolving the Imperial Diet and appointing the First Minister, Antoine d'Anjou, as interim head of state.

The move comes after a massive wave of unrest rocked the nation for several weeks stemming from excesses observed during the Ambrosian Occupation.

In a broadcast, flanked by military leaders, bureaucratic authorities and political figures including many dissident officials, Marshal William Talbot effectively declared the takeover of the government.

Violent clashes

At least 102 people were killed when Royalists clashed with security forces after the military announcement, officials said. Many of the deaths occurred during mass demonstrations at Victory Square several blocks from the Imperial Palace.

Seven people were killed and at least 50 wounded in Ambrosia, state news agency NTNA reported.

Dozens more were wounded in Kaiming, near Ambrosia, where unidentified assailants began looting local offices of the Imperial Admninistration, NTNA said.

In Victory Square, the security forces looked on as tens of thousands of anti-Imperial protestors rallied in a demonstration after Royalists withdrew from the area and made camp in Maribor City several miles away.

'National Revolution'

Speaking shortly after Talbot's announcement, liberal opposition leader Hyeon Taejo said the "national revolution was accomplished" and that the roadmap meets the demands of the protestors.

The Imperial Guard is believed to also back the military-sponsored roadmap.

Sigismund IV was installed by the Imperial Diet after the death of Daeso II and came under huge pressure from the then-privileged Guild Conglomerates of Ambrosia which resulted in a brief civil war and the controversial occupation of Ambrosia in which widespread looting and terror by undisciplined army troops caused massive unrest.

The embattled Emperor proposed a "consensus government" as a way out of the crisis. That was not enough for the military which lead to the installation of Antoine d'Anjou as the nations interim leader and the dissolution of the Diet.