August 30 (THEWILL) – The African Union (AU) has strongly condemned what it described as an attempted coup in Gabon.
THEWILL reports that the military, on Wednesday, announced a coup in Gabon, deposing President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was declared winner of Saturday’s controversial election.
Bongo, 64, whose family has ruled Gabon for 56 years, was placed under house arrest and one of his sons arrested for treason, the coup leaders said.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, Head of the African Union Commission, in his reaction, urged the national army and security forces to adhere strictly to their republican vocation to guarantee the physical integrity of the President of the Republic, members of his family as well as those of his government.
“(Faki) is following with great concern the situation in the Gabonese Republic and strongly condemns the attempted coup d’etat in the country as a way of resolving its current post-electoral crisis,” he said in a statement published on the AU website.
He called on “the national army and security forces to adhere strictly to their republican vocation to guarantee the physical integrity of the President of the Republic, members of his family as well as those of his government.”
The AU Commission Chief also described Wednesday’s events as a “flagrant violation” of the legal and political instruments of the Addis Ababa-headquartered African Union.
Faki appealed to “all political, civil and military actors in Gabon to favour peaceful political paths leading to the rapid return to democratic constitutional order in the country.”
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