Military Coup in Gabon; Ali Bongo Under House Arrest

A group of army officers in Gabon, located in Central Africa, announced that they have dismissed the country's President, Ali Bongo, and placed him under house arrest. The military declared their coup on Gabon's national television channel 24 on Wednesday morning. The coup was announced just moments after the Gabonese election commission stated that Bongo had won a third term in the general elections held on Saturday. The military stated that the election results were void, all government institutions have been dissolved, and all borders are closed until further notice. One of the soldiers said, 'We decided to defend peace by ending the current regime.' Hours after the first announcement, the officers released another video claiming they had arrested Bongo. Bongo first came to power in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had been president since 1967 in this oil-rich country. The elections on Saturday were held without international oversight, raising concerns about the transparency of the elections. Following this, Bongo's government restricted internet access and imposed a nationwide nighttime curfew, claiming that cutting off the internet was necessary to prevent the spread of misinformation. After the coup announcement, internet access appears to have improved somewhat. Following the first televised appearance of the officers, gunfire was heard throughout the capital of Gabon. Residents then took to the streets to celebrate Bongo's ousting. The announced coup in Gabon follows the recent overthrow of Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum by the military last month. Bongo had previously escaped an attempt by other soldiers to oust him in 2019 while recovering from a stroke. Some information in this report is sourced from Reuters and the Associated Press.