LIBREVILLE — The AU is to send a delegation to Gabon to help resolve a post-election standoff between President Ali Bongo, whose family has ruled for a half century, and his main opposition rival.Official results last Wednesday gave Bongo a slim victory but challenger Jean Ping claimed he had won and accused security forces of using violence against his supporters.Opposition anger at Bongo’s re-election boiled over into riots in the capital, Libreville, and other towns, leaving six people dead, according to the government. The opposition says the death toll is much higher."It is an urgent matter and I expect the high-level delegation to be dispatched very soon," AU spokesman Jacob Enoh Eben said on Tuesday.Chadian President Idriss Deby, one of Africa’s longest-ruling presidents and chairman of the pan-African body, was likely to lead the talks, he said.Ping, a former diplomat and AU Commission chairman, told Paris-based television news channel France24 on Tuesday that 50-100 people ...
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