Gabon on Saturday reopens borders three days after a military coup.
An army spokesman announced on Saturday that Gabon’s borders had reopened, three days after they were closed following a military coup that ousted President Ali Bongo.
In a military coup on Wednesday, General Brice Nguema and his forces deposed President Ali Bongo, placing him under house arrest and installing Nguema as the new head of state, ending the Bongo family’s 56-year hold on power.
The coup in Gabon is the eighth in West and Central Africa in three years, raising concerns that the region is experiencing a wave of military takeovers that could reverse the democratic gains made in recent decades.
The coup leaders have faced international pressure to restore civilian rule, but they have said they will not rush to hold elections.
The army spokesman said on national television that the junta reopened the borders because it was committed to upholding the rule of law, maintaining good relations with its neighbors and other countries, and fulfilling its international obligations Bongo was elected president in 2009, following in the footsteps of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for 42 years. Critics say the Bongo family enriched itself while doing little to share the country’s oil and mineral wealth.
The military takeover in Gabon is the latest in a series of coups in West and Central Africa since 2020, following similar events in Guinea, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. These coups have raised concerns among international powers, who have strategic interests in the region.