Coup: Gabon Set To Reopen Borders Effective Immediately

Gabon will reopen its borders “effective immediately”, Objectv Media learnt.

The borders of Gabon, which were shut following the military takeover that resulted in the removal of ex-president Ali Bongo, will be reopened, the country’s army announced on Saturday.

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On state television, a military spokesman for Gabon announced that the country’s military authorities had “decided with immediate effect to reopen the land, sea, and air borders as of this Saturday.”

In a statement broadcast on the Gabon 24 television channel on Wednesday, a group of 12 Gabonese soldiers said that the nation’s borders were locked until further notice.

President Ali Bongo Ondimba, a member of a family that had reigned for 55 years, was overthrown by officers under the command of General Brice Oligui Nguema, commander of the elite Republican Guard.

His removal occurred just after Bongo, 64, was declared the winner of the weekend presidential elections, a decision that the opposition called a fraud.

The leaders of the coup claimed to have closed the borders, dissolved the government, and annulled the election results.

The inauguration of Oligui as “transitional president” is scheduled for Monday.

In the past three years, coups have taken place in Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Niger, all of which are African nations. Their new leaders have resisted calls for a quick timeline for going back to the barracks.

(AFP)