Gabon Officers Declare Military Coup, President Ali Bongo Detained

Gabon Officers Declare Military Coup, President Ali Bongo Detained
Gabonese military appear on television as they announce that they have seized power following President Ali Bongo Ondimba's re-election in Gabon, on Aug. 30, 2023. Gabon 1ere/Handout via Reuters
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LIBREVILLE—Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday and had put President Ali Bongo under house arrest, stepping in minutes after the Central African state’s election body announced he had won a third term.

The officers who said they represented the armed forces declared on television that the election results were cancelled, borders were closed, and state institutions were dissolved, after a tense vote that was set to extend Mr. Bongo family’s more than half century in power.