Gabon’s army officers who claimed to have seized power say the country is “on the road to happiness”, adding that Libreville will respect its commitments “to the national and international community”.
“We call for calm and serenity from the public, the communities of sister countries settled in Gabon, and the Gabonese diaspora,” an officer reading a statement on state TV said.
“We reaffirm our commitment to respecting Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community,” he added.
“Right now we are hearing that people are coming out of their homes, they have come to the streets, and many of them are celebrating,” Soi said.
“We are also being told that the military individuals who spoke on TV have arrested several government officials as well,” she added,
“We don’t know where the president is. The individuals who spoke did not say if they were holding the president,” Soi said.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says defence ministers from the bloc are to discuss the situation in Gabon.
“If this is confirmed, it is another military coup which increases instability in the whole region,” Borrell, speaking at a meeting of EU defence ministers in Toledo, said.
“The whole area, starting with Central African Republic, then Mali, then Burkina Faso, now Niger, maybe Gabon, it’s in a very difficult situation and certainly the ministers … have to have a deep thought on what is going on there and how we can improve our policy in respect with these countries,” he said.
“This is a big issue for Europe,” he added.
