A group of senior military officers appeared on television in the oil-rich Central African nation of Gabon early Wednesday and announced they were seizing power, hours after the incumbent president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, was declared to have won a third term in office.
There was no immediate reaction from Mr. Bongo or the government.
Bursts of gunfire could be heard in the capital, Libreville, shortly after the broadcast ended, Reuters reported.
“We have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime,” one of the officers said on the Gabon 24 station.
If it succeeds, the coup would be the latest in an extraordinary run of military takeovers in Western and Central Africa — at least nine in the past three years, including one in Niger last month.
Persons:
Ali Bongo Ondimba, Bongo
Organizations:
Reuters, Central Africa —
Locations:
Gabon, Libreville, Western, Central, Niger