Gabonese army officers have announced military take over of power from President Alli Bongo who is in Morocco for medical treatment, various media reports said Monday.
A National Restoration Council is in place. Ali succeeded his late father Omar Bongo in 2009 and won a violence marred re-election in 2016.
Two soldiers who took part in Monday’s attempted coup in Gabon have been killed, the president’s office says.
They were shot dead after security officers stormed the national radio building which they had taken over. Three others are under arrest.
The junior officers claimed they seized power “to restore democracy” in oil-rich Gabon, where the ailing leader’s family has ruled for 50 years.
“The situation is under control,” the presidency’s statement said.
Coup leader Lt Kelly Ondo Obiang was on the run for a brief period, before being found hiding under a bed, reports Radio France Internationale (RFI).
“The situation is calm. The gendarmes who are often stationed there have taken control of the entire area around the radio and TV headquarters, so everything is back to normal”, said Guy-Bertrand Mapangou, a spokesman for the government of the central African country.
