Madagascar leader says ends house arrest of ex-president

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar leader Hery Rajaonarimampianina said he would end the house arrest of former president Marc Ravalomanana as part of a peace process on the Indian Ocean island. The president made the announcement late on Saturday after a national reconciliation meeting organised by Madagascar's Christian churches, saying he "agreed to repeal" Ravalomanana's detention. Ravalomanana was arrested in October last year, days after returning to the country for the first time since he was deposed in a 2009 coup. After the coup, the large, nickel-producing island state suffered years of political turmoil. Ravalomanana and the man who toppled him, Andry Rajoelina, were barred from running in the 2013 presidential election under a deal brokered by regional African states. Rajaonarimampianina, who took office in January 2014 after a peaceful election a month earlier, said at the time that Ravalomanana was detained "for his own safety". Police and pro-Ravalomanana demonstrators clashed after his arrest. (Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; writing by Drazen Jorgic; editing by Jason Neely)