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The Gabonese army announced Monday on state television a coup d'etat "aimed at restoring democracy" in the country of West Africa.
The capital, Libreville, is subject to curfew. Military tanks and armored vehicles patrol the city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Internet has been hacked.
The message was read on television by a soldier who identified himself as Lieutenant Obiang Ondo Kelly, commander of the Republican Guard and President of the Patriotic Movement. He was accompanied by two other armed men wearing green berets. According to him, the patriotic movement will preserve the integrity of the nation.
Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon, puts his vote in an urn of the presidential election of Libreville, in archive image – Photo: Gerauds Wilfried / Reuters
President Ali Bongo, in power since 2009, has been absent from the country since October. According to reports, he was a victim of a stroke. Bongo recently addressed his compatriots in a New Year's message filmed in Morocco, where he was treated.
Bongo took office as president for his second seven-year term in 2016 after a fierce election that was followed by violent protests.
Although the court validated the results of the electoral dispute, the opposition found that the court's decision was "biased" and "clearly ignored the urgent demands for transparency made by the national and international community".
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