African Union suspends Gabon Amid Coup

The African Union (AU) has suspended Gabon following the military junta in the Central African country.

The AU’s Peace and Security Council made the announcement on Thursday, August 31, 2023.

The AU suspended Niger Republic’s membership just a few weeks ago after the military took power there at the end of July.
Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Sudan have also been suspended since the coups in those countries.

In Brussels, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said the European Union “rejects any seizure of power by force in Gabon.

The challenges facing Gabon must be resolved in accordance with the principles of the rule of law, constitutional order and democracy.

The country’s peace and prosperity, as well as regional stability, depend on it,” Borrell wrote on Thursday in a statement.

He called for “inclusive and substantive dialogue” instead of force to respect the rule of law, human rights and the will of the Gabonese people.

The military had seized power in Gabon early on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

Officers announced on state television that state institutions had been dissolved.

They added that the results of the recent election had been annulled as they were fraudulent and the country’s borders were closed.

Shortly before, the electoral authorities had declared Bongo, who had been in office since 2009, the winner of the Aug. 26 election.
Military leaders named the head of the Presidential Guard, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, as the country’s interim leader on Wednesday evening.