The coup attempt came hours after President Ali Bongo Ondimba was declared the winner of an election.
Crowds have celebrated in Gabon after mutinous soldiers said they are seizing power in order to overturn the results of a presidential election, removing a president whose family has held power for 55 years.
The coup attempt came about one month after mutinous soldiers in Niger seized power from the democratically elected government, and is the latest in a series of coups that have challenged governments with ties to France, the region’s former coloniser. Mr Bongo acknowledged the widespread frustration over rising costs of living in his August 17 speech, and listed measures his government was making to contain fuel prices, make education more affordable, and stabilise the price of baguettes.Gabon is a member of the OPEC oil cartel, with a production of some 181,000 barrels of crude a day, making it the eighth-largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa.
When asked about Gabon Wednesday, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell said it would be discussed by EU ministers this week. Several members of the Bongo family are under investigation in France, and some have been given preliminary charges of embezzlement, money laundering and other forms of corruption, according to French media reports, driven in part by a broader push for justice by non-governmental organisations that have long accused multiple African heads of state of embezzling public funds and hiding them in France.
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