African Union 'strongly condemns' coup in Gabon

The head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said on Wednesday he "strongly condemns" what he described as an attempted coup in Gabon.

Rebel officers in the oil-rich central African state announced earlier Wednesday they had seized power following disputed elections, in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba had been declared victor.

Bongo, 64, whose family has ruled Gabon for over 55 years, was placed under house arrest and one of his sons arrested for treason, the coup leaders said.

"(Faki) is following with great concern the situation in the Gabonese Republic and strongly condemns the attempted coup d'etat in the country as a way of resolving its current post-electoral crisis," he said in a statement published on the AU website in French.

He "calls on the national army and security forces to adhere strictly to their republican vocation, to guarantee the physical integrity of the president of the republic, members of his family as well as those of his government".

The AU commission chief also described Wednesday's events as a "flagrant violation" of the legal and political instruments of the Addis Ababa-headquartered African Union.

"(Faki) encourages all political, civil and military actors in Gabon to favour peaceful political paths leading to the rapid return to democratic constitutional order in the country."

Gabon leader Bongo 'placed in retirement', says presidential guard head

Gabon President Ali Bongo has "been placed in retirement," the head of his presidential guard told Le Monde newspaper on Wednesday after rebel officers said they had toppled him.

"He has been placed in retirement. He has all his rights. He's an ordinary Gabonese person, like everyone," Brice Oligui Nguema said, while denying that he had become the leader of the putsch.

The leader of the Presidential Guard was seen in video footage broadcast on state TV earlier Wednesday being held aloft by hundreds of soldiers who were chanting "Oligui president."

Asked why Bongo had been toppled, he told the newspaper: "There was discontent in Gabon and beyond this discontent there was the head of state's illness. Everyone is talking about it, but no one was doing anything about it.

"He had no right to do a third term. The constitution had been trampled on. The electoral process was not the right one. So the army decided to turn the page and do something."

Bongo suffered a stroke in 2018 which side-lined him from public life for 10 months and left him with mobility problems and speaking difficulties.

Gabon's electoral authority had announced earlier Wednesday that Bongo had won a third term with 64.27 of the vote after a disputed election at the weekend.

France condemns Gabon coup as another African ally falls

France condemned the toppling of Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba on Wednesday which could represent another setback for Paris in Africa where friendly governments have been falling in an "epidemic" of coups.

France "condemns the military coup that is under way in Gabon", government spokesman Olivier Veran told reporters in Paris after military officers announced on television that they had overturned the government.

Veran said that France was following events "with a lot of attention" and that it "reiterates its desire to see the results of the election respected," referring to Saturday's disputed presidential polls in the West African country.