Order has been restored, Gabonese official reassures
But Monday's coup attempt ‘shows that the people are not happy,’ former prime minister Raymond Ndong Sima says
Libreville/Douala — Gabonese authorities said they put down an attempted coup by a group of mutineering soldiers who had seized control of the national broadcaster and vowed to “save a democracy in danger”. Communication minister Guy-Bertrand Mapangou told Radio France Internationale on Monday that order had been restored, and the capital, Libreville, was largely quiet. His statement came hours after Ondo Obiang Kelly, an army lieutenant, read a statement on state TV saying young army officers were disappointed with a speech by President Ali Bongo on December 31 that he broadcast from Morocco, where he’s been convalescing for two months after a stroke. “While he attempted to quickly end the debate on his health, the speech only reinforced doubts about his capacity to handle the heavy responsibilities that come with the position of president of the republic,’’ Kelly said. That’s why the Patriotic Movement of Young Defense and Security Forces decided “to take its responsibility to fin...
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