The Briefing Room
General Category => World News => Topic started by: Kamaji on August 30, 2023, 10:52:40 am
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Gabonese military officers announce they have seized power
By Reuters
August 30, 2023
A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power, minutes after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term.
Appearing on television channel Gabon 24, the officers said they represented all security and defense forces in the Central African nation.
They said the election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved.
Loud sounds of gunfire could be heard in the capital Libreville, a Reuters reporter said, after the television appearance.
There was no immediate comment from the government of the OPEC-member nation.
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Source: https://nypost.com/2023/08/30/gabon-military-officers-announce-they-have-seized-power/
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Gabon is on the west coast of Africa, not an interior country.
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Gabon is a mineral rich sub-Sharan nation on the western, Atlantic coast of Africa.
(https://cdn.britannica.com/45/183645-050-569C8B29/World-Data-Locator-Map-Gabon.jpg)
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Gabon coup ‘deeply concerning’ but ‘too soon to call this a trend,’ US says
by Mike Brest, Defense Reporter
August 30, 2023 01:50 PM
Washington Examiner (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/gabon-coup-concerning-africa-trend)The Biden administration is actively following the military coup in Gabon on Wednesday, though an official said it's too soon to characterize the recent rash of coups as a "trend."
Army officers of the African nation of Gabon asserted on national television that they had taken power and invalidated the results of the recent election, in which President Ali Bongo was declared the winner. Bongo, who has been in power since his father's death in 2009, has been placed on house arrest.
"This attempted military takeover. Certainly the latest in a region that's been rocked by attempted coup d'etat and unconstitutional paragraphs. And, again, it's deeply concerning to us. We will remain a supporter of the people in the region," United States National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said on Wednesday, noting all U.S. military and embassy personnel are accounted for and located.
If the Gabon military leaders are able to retain power, it would be the latest coup in West and Central Africa since 2020. Most recently, Niger fell to a military coup, while other military leaders have seized power in Mali, Sudan, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Chad in recent years.
"I think it's too soon to call this a trend. It's obviously deeply concerning here yet another country where military officers have taken these dangerous and reckless steps and attempted takeovers of democratically elected governments," Kirby added.
Bongo's opposition in Saturday's election claimed the election lacked credibility, alleging interference by Bongo and a purposeful withholding of information, including barring foreign journalists from reporting on the vote. The coup, if it holds, would end more than 50 years under Bongo or his father, Omar Bongo, who served from 1967 through his death. ...
Whatever. Does anyone in the world even care what the reaction of this administration might be (unless it means more US aid)?
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Gabon produces some 200,000 BOPD of oil, not huge (second smallest OPEC producer), but significant.
https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/gabon-oil-and-gas-market (https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/gabon-oil-and-gas-market)
It would not be unusual for oil production to decrease, perhaps sharply, a a result of the military taking over, perhaps severely.