Brian Moore
Gabon’s deposed President Ali Bongo Ondimba has solicited help, hours after he was put under house arrest by members of his presidential guard in an ongoing coup attempt on Wednesday.
Bongo, who confirmed his arrest in a video circulating on social media and verified by Al Jazeera, called on calls on citizens to “make noise” after the coup attempt.
Al Jazeera correspondents in Dakar said people were out in the streets of the Gabonese capital Libreville, celebrating and waving flags.
Appearing on state-run television channel Gabon 24, the officers who orchestrated the coup said they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation.
They also said the election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved.
The Bongo family, one of Africa’s most powerful dynasties, has been in power since 1967.
Speaking to the French newspaper Le Monde, coup leader Brice Oligui Nguema says the president will “enjoy all his rights” after the military announced it has placed him under house arrest.
“He is a Gabonese head of state. He is retired. He enjoys all his rights. He is a normal Gabonese, like everyone else,” Nguema said.
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