{"id":973,"date":"2023-08-30T10:46:35","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T10:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/?p=973"},"modified":"2023-08-30T10:46:41","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T10:46:41","slug":"gabon-crisis-live-news-soldiers-stage-coup-declare-election-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/30\/gabon-crisis-live-news-soldiers-stage-coup-declare-election-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Gabon crisis live news: Soldiers stage coup, declare election \u2018fraud\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Soldiers appeared on Gabonese national television, announcing the cancellation of recent election results and the dissolution of \u201call the institutions of the republic\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The apparent coup follows shortly after the national election authority\u2019s announcement on Wednesday that Gabon\u2019s President Ali Bongo Ondimba had been re-elected for a third term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A soldier appearing on TV channel Gabon 24 said, \u201cWe have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gunfire is reported in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, according to media reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabon\u2019s political opposition branded the election a \u201cfraud orchestrated by Ali Bongo and his supporters\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coup leaders say President Bongo under house arrest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gabon\u2019s coup leaders say President Ali Bongo Ondimba is under house arrest and one of his sons has been arrested for \u201ctreason\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors,\u201d they said in a statement read out on state TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al Jazeera\u2019s Nicolas Haque reporting from Dakar, Senegal said there is heavy presence of security forces on the streets of Libreville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe presidential guards seem to have taken control of the presidential palace and they have taken key positions around the National Assembly and the Senate,\u201d Haque said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018In the past France would have intervened\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

France is unlikely to send its military to intervene in its former colony, Tara O\u2019Connor, executive director of Africa Risk Consulting, told Al Jazeera from Bordeaux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what is very clear is that dynastic politics are extremely unpopular across West Africa. But I do think this is opportunistic on the part of the military officers following the military coups that have taken place, successfully it has to be said, in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which are all neighbouring countries and with whom the military leadership will have relations,\u201d O\u2019Connor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGabon is yet another country that was formerly a dictatorship under Ali Bongo\u2019s father. It actually moved towards democracy and has had relatively successful and peaceful elections. But I think much more interesting is its position in relation to France,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the past, France would have intervened with its military. But France has modernised its foreign policy towards Africa and now would only intervene at the invitation of says ECOWAS or any of the regional bodies or the African Union,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

French mining group Eramet says Gabon operations \u2018stopped\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

French mining group Eramet says it has stopped its activities in Gabon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eramet said that \u201cfor the safety of staff and the security of operations\u201d it had \u201cstopped\u201d work and was following events closely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It employs 8,000 people in the oil and mineral-rich West African country and its local subsidiary extracts manganese ore, a mineral used in steel-making and batteries, from the Moanda mines, the world\u2019s largest manganese mines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The coup in Gabon is different\u2019: Analyst<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ovigwe Eguegu, security analyst at Afripolitika, a security consultancy group, says the coup in Gabon is not similar to others witnessed in West Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe coup in Gabon came as a surprise but to some extent, it is not really a surprise because if you go back to 2016 for instance when there was an election, the vote was fraudulent with people protesting the results. That was Ali Bongo\u2019s second term,\u201d Eguegu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen in 2019, there was a coup attempt and those officers cited election irregularities saying it was not representative of the will of the people,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgain, we are seeing the same pattern. The coup in Gabon is different from what we are seeing in other West African countries. While those other coups are more about security and governance, this is specifically about the electoral process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We expect reactions on the streets\u2019: AJ correspondent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Al Jazeera\u2019s Ahmed Idris reporting from Niamey in Niger says people in Gabon are just waking up to the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe expect reactions on the streets. It\u2019s expected that many people here will be happy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe common thread of all these coups in West Africa and Central Africa that we have seen over the past few years is basically economic stagnation, corruption and insecurity,\u201d Idris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the case of Gabon, it\u2019s more like corruption and of course maladministration,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrations in parts of Libreville<\/h3>\n\n\n
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China calls for President Bongo\u2019s safety to be guaranteed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

China has called for \u201call sides\u201d in Gabon to guarantee the safety of President Ali Bongo Ondimba after a group of military officers said they were \u201cputting an end to the current regime\u201d in the West African nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe call on all sides in Gabon to proceed from the basic interests of the country and the people, resolve differences through dialogue, (and) restore normal order as soon as possible,\u201d foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wang called on parties to \u201cguarantee the personal safety of President Bongo, and uphold national peace and stability\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France following events in Gabon \u2018with the greatest attention\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne says Parisis following events in Gabon \u201cwith the greatest attention\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Borne\u2019s comment was the first reaction from France \u2013 Gabon\u2019s former colonial power \u2013 whose influence and interests in Africa are seen as being undermined by a series of recent coups that have toppled friendly governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We are hearing that people are coming out of their homes\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Al Jazeera\u2019s Catherine Soi reporting from Nairobi, Kenya says people have started taking to the streets in Gabon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now we are hearing that people are coming out of their homes, they have come to the streets, and many of them are celebrating,\u201d Soi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are also being told that the military individuals who spoke on TV have arrested several government officials as well,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know where the president is. The individuals who spoke did not say if they were holding the president,\u201d Soi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018This is a big issue for Europe\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says defence ministers from the bloc are to discuss the situation in Gabon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf this is confirmed, it is another military coup which increases instability in the whole region,\u201d Borrell, speaking at a meeting of EU defence ministers in Toledo, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole area, starting with Central African Republic, then Mali, then Burkina Faso, now Niger, maybe Gabon, it\u2019s in a very difficult situation and certainly the ministers \u2026 have to have a deep thought on what is going on there and how we can improve our policy in respect with these countries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a big issue for Europe,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We are finally on the road to happiness\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gabon\u2019s army officers who claimed to have seized power say the country is \u201con the road to happiness\u201d, adding that Libreville will respect its commitments \u201cto the national and international community\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe call for calm and serenity from the public, the communities of sister countries settled in Gabon, and the Gabonese diaspora,\u201d an officer reading a statement on state TV said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe reaffirm our commitment to respecting Gabon\u2019s commitments to the national and international community,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabon\u2019s borders \u2018closed until further notice\u2019: Soldiers announce on TV<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gabon\u2019s borders have been closed indefinitely by soldiers who appeared to have seized power, as announced in a statement broadcast on the state-run Gabon 24 television channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe borders are closed until further notice,\u201d said one of the soldiers, speaking on behalf of a \u201cCommittee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: aljazeera.com<\/strong><\/sub><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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