Military Coup In Gabon, President Under House Arrest
By REUTERS
President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon has been placed under house arrest by the military. The military has also dissolved the government and suspended the constitution.
The coup was announced on national television by a group of 12 military officers, who said they were acting to "defend peace" and "put an end to the current regime". They alleged that the election that re-elected Bongo to a third term was fraudulent.
Bongo's whereabouts are unknown, but the military has said that he is safe and that he will be released once the situation has stabilized.
Hundreds of people celebrated the military's intervention, while France, Gabon's former colonial ruler which has troops stationed in the African nation, condemned the coup.
"I am marching today because I am joyful. After almost 60 years, the Bongos are out of power," said Jules Lebigui, a jobless 27-year-old who joined crowds on Libreville's streets.
In another statement, the officers said they had detained Bongo, who took over in 2009 from his father Omar, who had ruled since 1967. They said they had arrested the president's son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, and others for corruption and treason.
Opponents say the family has done little to share the state's oil and mining wealth with its 2.3 million people. Violent unrest had broken out after Bongo's disputed 2016 election win and there was a foiled coup attempt in 2019.
If successful, the Gabon coup would be the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. The latest one, in Niger, was in July. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Chad, erasing democratic gains since the 1990s.
The Gabon officers, calling themselves The Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions, said the country faced "a severe institutional, political, economic, and social crisis". They said the Aug. 26 vote was not credible.
It was not clear who was leading the coup, but television images showed a man in fatigues and a green beret held aloft by soldiers shouting "Oligui president", a possible reference to Brice Oligui Nguema, the head of Gabon's Republican Guard.
Despite the brief sound of gunfire in the capital shortly after the officers made their first announcement, the streets of Libreville were calm until celebrations erupted. Police officers fanned out to guard major city intersections.
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