On Wednesday, mutinous soldiers claimed on national television that they had seized power in Gabon and placed the president under house arrest hours after he was declared the winner of an election that extended his family’s 55-year rule in the oil-rich Central African country.
A video apparently taken from his residence where he was held states: President Ali Bongo Ondimba urged people to “make noise” to support himaccording to the AP report.
Instead, a crowd took to the streets and sang the national anthem to celebrate the military coup against the scion of a dynasty accused of enriching himself at the expense of the country’s resources while many citizens struggle to survive.
The rebel military later said the head of the Republican Guard would be the new head of state.
In a speech on state television The military announced that General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema will be president of the Transition and Institutional Restoration Committee. Oligui heads the elite military unit and is also the cousin of the ousted president.
The riot occurred hours after 64-year-old Bongo was declared the winner of the election characterized by fear of violence.
Minutes after the announcement, shots were heard in the center of the capital, Libreville. Later, a dozen uniformed soldiers appeared on state television and announced the seizure of power.
The soldiers wanted to “dissolve all institutions of the republic,” said a spokesman for the group, which is made up of members of the gendarmerie, the Republican Guard and other factions of the security forces.
French mining company Eramet announced the suspension of its activities in Gabon, saying it had initiated procedures to ensure the safety of its personnel and facilities. Its subsidiaries in the country operate the world’s largest manganese mine and a railway transportation company.
According to the private news service Ambrey, all operations at the country’s main port, Libreville, were also suspended and authorities refused to authorize the departure of ships. An early morning flight was delayed at the capital’s Léon-Mba international airport.
The coup comes nearly a month after rebel soldiers seized power from the democratically elected government in Niger and is the latest in a series of uprisings challenging governments with ties to France, the region’s former colonial power. If he succeeds, The uprising in Gabon would bring to eight the number of coups recorded in Central and West Africa since 2020.
Unlike Niger and two other West African countries ruled by the military junta, Gabon was not plagued by jihadist violence and was considered a relatively stable country. According to the World Bank, more than two million people live there, but in 2020 about 40% of Gabonese between the ages of 15 and 24 were unemployed.
Gabon is part of the OPEC oil cartel and is the eighth largest producer in sub-Saharan Africa, producing around 181,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
France has 400 soldiers in the country and is leading a regional military training operation. According to the French army, their operations were not changed on Wednesday.
The U.S. military command in Africa said it had no troops in Gabon other than those serving at the embassy.
The White House National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby said developments in the central African country were being followed with “great concern”.and added that one could not yet speak of a trend or “domino effect” resulting from the military coups on the continent.
But Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said in a statement issued by his office: “We are seeing autocracy spreading across our continent” and said he was in contact with other heads of state and the African Union, whose commission condemned and called for the coup a return to the “democratic constitutional order”.
For his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned “the ongoing coup attempt” in Gabon, said his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric and called on all actors to “contain” and “dialogue”.
Bongo sought re-election for a third term after coming to power in 2009 following his father’s death. Another group of mutinous soldiers launched a brief, failed coup in January 2019 while the leader was recovering from illness in Morocco.
In last week’s election, Bongo faced an opposition coalition led by Albert Ondo Ossa, an economics professor and former education minister who was unexpectedly nominated a week earlier.
Every vote in Gabon since the country’s return to the multi-party system in 1990 has ended in violence. Clashes between government troops and demonstrators after the 2016 elections left four people dead, according to official figures. The opposition claims the death toll was much higher.
For fear of violence, Many residents of the capital were visiting relatives in other parts of the country or leaving Gabon. Others stockpiled food or increased security in their homes.
In addition to the international reactions cited, the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs said, Josep Borrell regretted that the coup in Gabon “increases instability throughout the central region” of the African continentalthough he stated that he did not yet have enough information.
For his part France condemned the coup and called for people to “respect” the election results.said French government spokesman Olivier Véran, in an ambiguous response to the previous announcements.
Russia also expressed its “deep concern” about the uprising by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, while Portugal called for the “quick restoration of normality and constitutional order” and Morocco highlighted the “importance of maintaining the stability of this brotherly country,” EFE summarized.