Soldiers seize power in a coup in Gabon and arrest the ousted president | world

A high-ranking group of the Gabonese Armed Forces announced the coup on Wednesday (30) on national television. they Allegations of rigging the general elections in the countrywhich happened over the weekend and pointed out The victory of the current president, Ali Bongo.

The army, which has also closed the country’s borders, said Bongo was placed under house arrest.

And the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces announced, in a live broadcast on national television, the following:

• claims to seize power;
• All state institutions, such as the Senate and the National Assembly, were dissolved;
• land borders and parts of the country were closed;
• The election was rigged and therefore annulled – on Saturday (26th), after the polls closed The government issued a night curfew and cut off internet services across the country, which raised doubts and concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.

“On behalf of the Gabonese people, we have decided to defend peace and put an end to the current regime,” the army said on television.

In the elections held on Saturday, Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has ruled the country for 14 years, was re-elected with about 64% of the vote for a third term, according to the country’s electoral body.

The Bongo family ruled the oil-producing country for 56 years, almost the entire post-independence period of the country, which was a colony of France until 1960.

After the coup was announced, hundreds of people took to the streets to celebrate Bongo’s departure from power, and videos posted on social networks show the celebrations in the streets.

The European Union’s advisor, Josep Borrell, stated that he was following up on the issue and that The mass should discuss the situation in Gabon.

“If confirmed, it is another military coup that increases instability in the region,” he added, adding that the situation is a big problem for Europe.

The Russian government also spoke about the coup and said it was concerned about the situation in the African country.

Moscow received with concern reports of a sharp deterioration in the internal situation in Russia friendly African country. “We continue to closely monitor the development of the situation and look forward to its rapid stabilization,” said Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The country has a population of 2.3 million, more than 30% of whom live in poverty.

Gabon is located in Central Africa, on the western coast of the continent. This is not the first time that the country’s president has been subjected to a coup attempt.

Recently, another African country faced a military coup, Niger. The military council seized power at the end of July. The country was one of the few democracies in the region known as the Sahel region, which covers a large area of ​​the African continent.

In addition to Niger, Mali and Sudan are also under military command. Both countries are run by the Russia-linked Wagner Group.

Experts say that Africa has become an arena of conflict between Russia and the West, with competition for influence in the Sahel region. The abundant natural resources in some African countries are an important point of interest in the region.

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