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Gabon Military Officers Say Deposed President is Under House Arrest

by VOA News

   A group of army officers in the central African nation of Gabon say
   they have removed President Ali Bongo from office and placed him under
   house arrest.

   The officers announced their coup early Wednesday morning on national
   television channel Gabon 24, just moments after the nation's election
   commission had announced that Bongo had won a third term in Saturday's
   general elections.

   The officers said that the election results were invalidated, all state
   institutions dissolved and all borders closed until further notice.

   "We have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current
   regime," one of the officers said.

   Hours after the initial announcement, the officers released another
   video claiming they had detained Bongo.

   Bongo first took office in 2009, after the death of his father, Omar
   Bongo who had become president of the oil-rich nation in 1967.

   Saturday's elections were overshadowed by a lack of international
   observers, raising concerns about transparency. Afterwards Bongo's
   government curtailed internet service and imposed a nightly curfew
   across the nation, saying it was necessary to prevent the spread of
   misinformation.

   Internet access seemed to be at least partially restored after the coup
   announcement.

   Gunfire was heard throughout Gabon's capital, Libreville, after the
   officers' initial television appearance. Residents later poured onto
   the streets of Libreville to celebrate news of Bongo's removal.

   The declared coup comes on the heels of last month's military overthrow
   of President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger, the latest in a series of coups
   across West and Central Africa since 2020. President Bongo survived an
   attempted military takeover in January 2019 as he was recovering from a
   stroke.

   Some information for this report came from Reuters, Agence
   France-Presse.