Moussa Faki Mahamat, the president of the African Union Commission, cautioned the Gabonese national army and security forces on Wednesday to uphold its “republican vocation.”
At the same time, he fiercely denounced what he called a “attempted coup” in Gabon.
In the oil-rich nation of central Africa, rebel officers stated earlier on Wednesday that they had taken control of the country following disputed elections in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba had been declared the winner.
According to the coup leaders, Bongo, 64, whose family has ruled Gabon for more than 55 years, was put under house arrest and one of his sons was taken into custody for treason.
UPDATE: Nigerians React As Military Takes Over Power In Gabon
“(Faki) is following with great concern the situation in the Gabonese Republic and strongly condemns the attempted coup d’etat in the country as a way of resolving its current post-electoral crisis,” he said in a statement published on the AU website in French.
He “calls on the national army and security forces to adhere strictly to their republican vocation, to guarantee the physical integrity of the president of the republic, members of his family as well as those of his government”.
The AU commission chief also described Wednesday’s events as a “flagrant violation” of the legal and political instruments of the Addis Ababa-headquartered African Union.
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