Navy announce coup in Gabon as senior officers seize energy after presidential election

A gaggle of senior navy officers have introduced a coup in Gabon following the nation’s presidential election outcome.

They appeared on the nationwide TV channel Gabon 24 declaring they had been seizing energy following President Ali Bongo’s victory.

Nearly a dozen troopers stated they represented all safety and defence forces within the Central African nation, including that election outcomes had been cancelled, all borders had been closed till additional discover, and state establishments dissolved.

Sounds of gunfire had been additionally reported within the Gabonese capital Libreville on Wednesday morning.

The officers stated: “In the name of the Gabonese people… we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime.”

Mr Bongo’s reappointment would have continued the household’s 56-year grip on energy of the resource-rich however poverty-hit nation – his father Omar Bongo was its president from 1967 till his dying in 2009.

Concerns in regards to the transparency of the election have included the suspension of overseas protection, the authorities’ choice to chop web entry, and the imposition of a nationwide curfew following the ballot.

Every vote held in Gabon for the reason that nation’s return to a multi-party system in 1990 has resulted in violence.

Clashes between authorities forces and protesters following the 2016 election killed 4 individuals, in accordance with official figures, however opposition teams stated the true quantity killed was greater.

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