Military officers in Gabon say they have seized power

This video grab shoes the spokesperson for the mutinous soldiers speaking on state television as they announce that they had seized power in Libreville on Wednesday. AP hide caption

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This video grab shoes the spokesperson for the mutinous soldiers speaking on state television as they announce that they had seized power in Libreville on Wednesday.

AP

LAGOS, Nigeria — A group of military officers in Gabon has taken over the government and arrested President Ali Bongo Ondimba, moments after the election body announced that Bongo had won a controversial third term in the oil-rich central African country.

Hundreds of people filled the streets of the capital Libreville, hugging soldiers and cheering the likely end of Bongo's rule. The coup is the eighth in three years to take place in West and Central Africa.

Early on Wednesday morning, in what has become a recurring image across the region, soldiers appeared on state TV, declared the government and institutions dissolved and canceled the controversial election held last Saturday.

Gabon is now the sixth former French colony to been taken over by military leaders since 2020. Across West and Central Africa, democratically elected presidents and allies of France have been deposed by militaries exploiting a crisis of trust in government institutions.

Like many of the countries in the region, Gabon has maintained close relations with France, yet in recent years, dissatisfaction with French political and economic influence in former colonies has grown.

Gabonese soldiers previously attempted a coup in 2019, when soldiers took over the state radio broadcaster. That attempt was swiftly put down.