EU chief says evacuations not planned yet – DW – 08/31/2023

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday that there were no plans yet for EU citizens’ evacuation from Gabon, merely a day after the military seized power in the west African country, nullifying the recent election result.

Addressing reporters in the Spanish city of Toledo, Borrell compared the situation in Gabon to that in nearby Niger, which suffered another coup last month.

“Naturally, military coups are not the solution, but we must not forget that in Gabon there had been elections full of irregularities,” he said, arguing a rigged vote could amount to a civilian “institutional coup.”

The Toledo meeting involved EU foreign ministers discussing means to support the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc regarding the Niger coup.

Last month, the military junta in Niger ousted elected president Mohamed Bazoum and later said it intended to try him for treason. The ECOWAS has more than once warned it might use military intervention to quell the coup.

What do we know about the coup?

A group of high ranking military officers, on Wednesday, appeared on TV to announce the nullification of the country’s recent election results, citing a lack of credibility.

Gunfire rang out in the center of the capital, Libreville shortly after the central African country’s election committee declared early Wednesday morning that 64-year-old President Ali Bongo had won the election with 64.27% of the vote.

The coup leaders placed Bongo under house arrest for “treason,” while other government figures had been detained on various charges. They later installed the head of the Republican Guard, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema as the “transitional president.”

They cited “irresponsible, unpredictable governance” leading to a deteriorating social climate as the reason for their intervention, aiming to restore peace by ending the current regime.

The group also announced that the “borders are closed until further notice.”

Who is General Oligui Nguema? 

General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema is reportedly cousin to the ousted President Ali Bongo. 

Oligui used to be the bodyguard of Bongo’s father, the late President Omar Bongo, said Desire Ename a journalist with Echos du Nord, a local media outlet.

Oligui was head of the secret service in 2019 before becoming head of the Republican Guard.

On Wednesday, he was “unanimously” designated president of a transitional committee of Gabon, the coup leaders said.

rmt, mk/rt (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)