Thanks for joining our live coverage of Wednesday's events in Gabon - which focused on soldiers announcing the overthrow of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who had just won elections for a third term.
Here were the key highlights:
- President Bongo placed under house arrest
- President's son among key figures arrested
- The president has called out for help from his friends
- African Union has condemned what it termed as an attempted coup
- France, China, Russia and the US have expressed concern about the situation
- Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema named as new head of state
18:00 GMT - Gabon's soldiers appoint General Brice new country's leader
Mutinous soldiers in Gabon announced Wednesday that the head of the republican guard would be the country's new head of state.
The soldiers went on Gabon’s state television and said that Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema was president of the Committee for the Transition and Restauration of Institutions. Oligui is the leader of the republican guard, an elite military unit. He’s also a cousin of President Ali Bongo Ondimba.
Earlier on Wednesday, soldiers hoisted Oligui into the air in the capital and chanted his name.
Mutinous soldiers claimed to have seized power in Gabon and put President Ali Bongo under house arrest, hours after he was declared the winner in an election extending his family’s 55-year rule in the oil-rich Central African nation.
In a video apparently from detention in his residence, President Ali Bongo Ondimba called on people to “make noise” to support him.
But the crowds who took to the streets of the capital instead celebrated the coup attempt against a dynasty accused of getting rich on the country’s resource wealth while many of its citizens struggle in poverty.
Bongo, 64, has served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, who ruled the country for 43 years, and there has been widespread discontent with his reign.
Another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in 2019 but was quickly overpowered.
17:00 GMT - What are France's business interests in Gabon?
French companies have wide-ranging economic interests in Gabon.
Some 80 French companies are registered in Gabon, alongside smaller businesses, tradespeople, restaurants, lawyers, insurers and financial services companies, the AFP news agency reports.
Gabon in 2022 became the biggest destination for French exports among the six member countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC.
French companies sold 536 million euros ($585 million) worth of goods in Gabon, according to finance ministry figures.
Mining group Eramet, one of the biggest French companies in Gabon, employs 8,000 people in the oil and mineral-rich central African country, and its local subsidiary extracts manganese ore - a mineral used in steelmaking and batteries - from the Moanda mines, the world's largest manganese mines.
Gabon is the world's second-biggest manganese producer after South Africa, and Comilog extracts 90 percent of Gabon's manganese, with the remainder handled by Chi nese company CICMHZ.
Eramet's Setrag unit, meanwhile, operates the Trans-Gabon Railway, the country's only train line.
Energy giant TotalEnergies has been present since 1928 in Gabon, which is sub-Saharan Africa's fourth-biggest oil producer and a member of the OPEC cartel.
Maurel and Prom, another hydrocarbon exploration and production company, said Wednesday the situation in Gabon had not affected its sites, and business was running normally.
Oil company Perenco, also active in Gabon, did not respond when contacted by AFP.
16:15 GMT - US following events in Gabon ''very, very closely'
The US is following "very, very closely" the military takeover in the central African nation of Gabon that saw President Ali Bongo ousted and placed under house arrest.
"We're following this very, very closely, this attempted military takeover, certainly the latest in a region that's been rocked by attempted coup d'etats, and unconstitutional power grabs. And, again, it's deeply concerning to us," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
"We will remain a supporter of the people of the region, supporter of the people of Gabon, and on their demand for democratic governance, of course. But we're gonna stay focused on continuing to work with our African partners and all the people on the continent to address challenges, and to support democracy," he added.
Military officers seized power Wednesday after Bongo was declared the winner in Saturday’s election, securing a third term in office.
15:45 GMT - President's son among key figures arrested in Gabon
Senior members of Gabon's military seized power on Wednesday and detained several prominent figures, according to the junta.
Noureddine Bongo Valentin, the son of Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba and President of the National Assembly Richard Auguste Onouviet are being held, according to the junta known as the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI).
The military group went on national television and declared the end of the Ondimba regime after official results of Saturday's presidential election were announced.
President Bongo won with more than 64% of the vote.
The results of the election "are truncated," and the election canceled, according to the spokesman from the junta.
Coup plotters announced the arrest of several personalities for "high treason against the institutions of the State, massive misappropriation of public funds, international financial embezzlement in organized gangs, forgery and use of forgeries, falsification of the signature of the President of the Republic, active corruption, drug trafficking."
The CTRI denounced "irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuous deterioration of social cohesion, which risks leading the country into chaos."
15:30 GMT - Türkiye 'closely and carefully' monitoring situation
Türkiye is monitoring developments in Gabon "closely and carefully," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"We wish peace and stability to be restored in the country," the ministry said in a statement.
15:00 GMT - Gabon leader Bongo 'placed in retirement' - presidential guard head
Gabon President Ali Bongo has "been placed in retirement," the head of his presidential guard told Le Monde newspaper on Wednesday after rebel officers said they had toppled him.
"He has been placed in retirement. He has all his rights. He's an ordinary Gabonese person, like everyone," Brice Oligui Nguema said, while denying that he had become the leader of the putsch.
The leader of the Presidential Guard was seen in video footage broadcast on state TV earlier Wednesday being held aloft by hundreds of soldiers who were chanting "Oligui president."
Asked why Bongo had been toppled, he told the newspaper: "There was discontent in Gabon and beyond this discontent there was the head of state's illness. Everyone is talking about it, but no one was doing anything about it.
"He had no right to do a third term. The constitution had been trampled on. The electoral process was not the right one. So the army decided to turn the page and do something."
Bongo suffered a stroke in 2018 which side-lined him from public life for 10 months and left him with mobility problems and speaking difficulties.
Gabon's electoral authority had announced earlier Wednesday that Bongo had won a third term with 64.27 of the vote after a disputed election at the weekend.
14:00 GMT - African Union 'strongly condemns attempted coup' in Gabon
The African Union says it strongly condemns what it termed as an attempted coup in Gabon, which has seen soldiers place President Ali Bongo Ondimba under house arrest.
It said the seizure of power by soldiers "constitutes a flagrant violation of the legal and political instruments of the African Union", according a statement by chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.
He called on the soldiers to guarantee the safety of the president, the members of his family as well as those of his government.
Read more: Five things to know about Gabon
13:30 GMT - Nigeria's president working with African leaders on way forward
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the current chair of West African bloc ECOWAS, is working closely with other African heads of state on how to respond to an attempted coup in Gabon, his spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said.
Tinubu is watching developments in Gabon and the "autocratic contagion" spreading across the continent "with deep concern," the spokesperson said.
13:00 GMT - Commonwealth says Gabon coup 'deeply concerning'
The Commonwealth has voiced fears about a military coup in Gabon, which joined the grouping last year, and said it was monitoring the situation closely.
Secretary general Patricia Scotland said on Wednesday that the situation was "deeply concerning",
She added: "The Commonwealth Charter is clear that member states must uphold the rule of law and the principles of democracy at all times."
12:30 GMT - Gabon president cries out for help as soldiers seize power
Gabon's President Ali Bongo has appeared in a video calling for his "friends" to "make noise" after military officers in the oil-rich central African state staged a coup.
"I’m sending a message to all friends that we have all over the world to tell them to make noise for (…) the people here who arrested me and my family," he said, looking worried, in the clip posted on social media.
Read more: Who is President Ali Bongo Ondimba?
12:00 GMT - Soldiers praise head of presidential guard after takeover
The head of Gabon's presidential guard, Brice Oligui Nguema, was carried aloft by hundreds of soldiers on Wednesday, hours after army officers said they had deposed President Ali Bongo Ondimba, according to images broadcast on state TV.
The footage, which showed soldiers shouting "Oligui president," was played on a loop following a statement that announced Bongo was under house arrest.
Read more: In pictures: Gabonese in streets to applaud soldiers
11:30 GMT - Internet restored in Gabon - Netblocks
The internet, which was out for three days, has been restored in Gabon after a group of army officers claimed to have seized power.
The restorations is partial, according to internet monitoring group Netblocks.
A nationwide internet shutdown was imposed by Bongo's government as polling drew to a close late Saturday on the grounds that it would prevent the spread of "false news" and possible violence.
11:00 GMT - Russia 'concerned" as France calls for election result to be upheld
Russia says it is "deeply concerned" by events in Gabon, where military officers announced they had deposed President Ali Bongo.
"We are deeply concerned about the situation in Gabon. We are closely following what is going on there," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
France has condemned the "coup which is underway" and wants the election result in Gabon to be respected, government spokesman Olivier Veran has said.
10:50 GMT - China calls for safety guarantee of President Bongo
China has called for "all sides" in Gabon to guarantee the safety of President Ali Bongo Ondimba after a group of military officers said they were "putting an end to the current regime" in the country.
"China is closely following the developing situation in Gabon," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday.
"We call on all sides in Gabon to proceed from the basic interests of the country and the people, resolve differences through dialogue, (and) restore normal order as soon as possible," he added, urging parties to "guarantee the personal safety of President Bongo, and uphold national peace and stability".
Bongo has been in power for 14 years in the oil-rich West African state. He was first elected in 2009 following the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba.
10:45 GMT - France following Gabon's event 'with the greatest attention'
France says it is following events in Gabon "with the greatest attention" after army officers in the West African country announced they had deposed President Ali Bongo.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's comment was the first reaction from France, the former colonial power in Gabon.
Speaking to ambassadors in Paris, Borne said French diplomats had had to contend with a series of crises "and now the situation in Gabon which we are following with the greatest attention."
On Monday, President Emmanuel Macron denounced what he called an "epidemic" of coups in recent years in French-speaking Africa, from Mali and Burkina Faso to Guinea and most recently Niger.
10:30 GMT - President Bongo placed under house arrest - military
Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba is under house arrest and one of his sons has been arrested for "treason", military officers have said.
The whereabouts of President Bongo were announced on Wednesday on state television, hours after the military announced they had overthrown the government.
"President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors," they said in a statement read out on state TV.
In a previous announcement, the military cancelled the results of the country's recent election that gave President Bongo a third term and dissolved "all the institutions of the republic".
