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Gabon Coup Attempt: Gov’t Says ’Situation under Control,’ Rebels Seized

Gabon Coup Attempt: Gov’t Says ’Situation under Control,’ Rebels Seized
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Local Editor

The government of Gabon declared that it was in control after an attempted coup by army rebels Monday and that it had arrested most of those involved.

"Calm has returned, the situation is under control," government spokesman Guy-Bertrand Mapangou said.

Hours earlier, Gabon soldiers on state radio called on the people to "rise up" and announced a "national restoration council" would be formed, as an ailing President Ali Bongo is out of the country in a YouTube video on January 7 2018.

Gabon soldiers on state radio called on the people to "rise up" and announced a "national restoration council" would be formed, as an ailing President Ali Bongo is out of the country in a YouTube video on January 7 2018.

In further details, soldiers burst into state radio and called on the people to "rise up," an apparent bid to oust ailing President Ali Bongo, who is out of the country. Of the five who did this, according to Mapangou, "four have been arrested and one is on the run."

The 59-year-old Bongo has not been back to Gabon since he fell ill in Saudi Arabia on October 24. It was revealed last month that he had suffered a stroke. In his absence, the Constitutional Court transferred part of the powers of the president to the prime minister and the vice president.

The Bongo family has governed the equatorial African nation for five decades.

Ali Bongo was elected head of state after his father's death in 2009. He was narrowly re-elected in 2016 following a presidential poll marred by deadly violence and allegations of fraud.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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