In Gabon, a group of officers seized power in a coup dʼétat and appointed General Brice Oligui Ngema as the countryʼs interim leader.
The BBC writes about it.
Gabonese troops triumphantly escorted General Ngema — the ex-head of the presidential guard — through the streets of the capital Libreville, while ousted president Ali Bongo filmed a video at his residence calling on "friends all over the world" to "make noise".
Army officers said they had annulled the results of Saturdayʼs election, in which Bongo won. His family ruled Gabon for over 55 years.
The coup was condemned by the United Nations, the African Union, Great Britain and France. The US State Department called on the Gabonese army to "preserve civilian rule" and "take care of the security of government members."
- If successful, the coup would be the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. Coups have also occurred in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger.
- In 2019, there was an attempted military coup in Gabon. The army briefly seized the state radio station and declared that Bongo, who had suffered a stroke at the time, was no longer able to perform his duties. But in a few hours, two rebels were killed, and others were arrested.