Africa’s Gabon witnessed rebel military officers engage in a coup that put third time elected President Ali Bongo Ondimba under house arrest. The reportedly disputed elections had declared Ondimba as the victor. Notably, Ali Bongo Ondimba has been in power in the oil-rich African country since 2009.
In the latest news, Bongo had called upon citizen to ‘make noise’ after he asserted that he had been detained in his home, according to AP report.
Notably, Gabon is the sixth country in Africa to be facing a coup in the past three years. Five other countries include- Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
The Commonwealth on Wednesday voiced fears about a military coup in Gabon, which joined the grouping last year, and said it was monitoring the situation closely.
Here are the top points to Gabon Military Coup
-In a dramatic pre-dawn address, a group of officers declared “all the institutions of the republic” had been dissolved, the election results cancelled and the borders closed
-Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, whose family has ruled Gabon for over 55 years, was placed under house arrest and one of his sons arrested for treason
-Bongo was first elected in 2009 following the death of his father Omar, who had ruled the country for 41 years
-TV images later showed the head of the Republican Guard, General Brice Oligui Nguema, being carried in triumph by hundreds of soldiers, to cries of “Oligui president”, reported AFP.
-Bongo’s son and close adviser Noureddin Bongo Valentin, his chief of staff Ian Ghislain Ngoulou as well as his deputy, two other presidential advisers and the two top officials in the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) “have been arrested,”, according to the military official statement
-They are accused of treason, embezzlement, corruption and falsifying the president’s signature, among other allegations, the statement added
-A country of just 2.3 million people, Gabon has been ruled by the Bongo family for more than 55 out of its 63 years since independence from France in 1960
-Notably, another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in January 2019, while Bongo was in Morocco recovering from a stroke, but was quickly overpowered.
-Paris maintains a military presence in many of its former territories — including Gabon where it has 370 soldiers permanently deployed, some in the capital Libreville, according to the French defence ministry website
-According to reports, Omar Bongo was one of France’s closest allies in the post-colonial era and his son has long been a regular in Paris, where his family owns an extensive real estate portfolio that is being investigated by anti-corruption magistrates.
-Videos and images emerged of people celebrating in support of the putschists in the street of Libreville, Gabon
-Russia has expressed concern over the situation in Gabon. Further, China has also called for “all sides” in Gabon to guarantee the safety of Bongo, “resolve differences through dialogue, (and) restore normal order as soon as possible.”
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Publish date : 2023-08-30 07:00:00
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