The deposed president called on Gabonese citizens to “make noise” after coup attempt.
Gabon’s deposed President Ali Bongo Ondimba has solicited help, hours after he was put under house arrest by members of his presidential guard in an ongoing coup attempt on Wednesday.
Appearing on state-run television channel Gabon 24, the officers said they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation. They said the election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved.
“In the name of the Gabonese people … we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime,” the officers said in a statement. As one officer read the joint statement, about a dozen others stood silently behind him in military fatigues and berets.
The servicemen introduced themselves as members of the “Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions”. The state institutions they declared dissolved included the government, the senate, the national assembly, the constitutional court and the election body.
Bongo, who confirmed his arrest in a video circulating on social media and verified by Al Jazeera, called on calls on citizens to “make noise” after coup attempt.
But Al Jazeera correspondents in Dakar said people were out in the streets of the Gabonese capital Libreville, celebrating and waving flags.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
