Military leaders in Gabon have announced a coup after president Ali Bongo was declared victorious in the country’s presidential election.
The result, which would give him a third term in office and extend his family’s 55-year grip of power on the country, has been highly disputed.
But who is Mr Bongo, who is behind the coup and what is happening in the Central African nation?
Here’s what you need to know.
Who is Ali Bongo?
Ali Bongo’s family has held power in Gabon for 55 years.
His father Omar Bongo was the country’s president from 1967 until his death in 2009.
Ali Bongo, 64, has ruled since then – but his takeover was not welcomed by many Gabonese who believed his success was down to family connections.
“A spoilt child, born in Congo-Brazzaville, brought up in France, hardly able to speak indigenous languages and with the appearance of a hip-hop star”, was how Burkina Faso newspaper L’Observateur Paalga described him.
Mr Bongo went to school in France and then studied law at the Sorbonne in Paris. He entered politics after graduating, joining the Gabonese Democratic Party in 1981.
During his father’s presidency, Mr Bongo was minister of foreign affairs and minister of defence, and represented the town of Bongoville in the country’s National Assembly.
The town, originally called Lewai, was renamed after Omar Bongo, who was born there and massively expanded it during his presidency.
Mr Bongo was born Alain Bernard Bongo but changed his name to Ali in 1973, when he and his father converted to Islam.
In 1977 he released a funk album titled A Brand New Man, produced by James Brown’s former manager, Charles Bobbit.
Mr Bongo had a stroke in 2018 and spent months out of the country recovering.
Why has there been a coup attempt?
Mutinous soldiers declared they were seizing power hours after it was announced Mr Bongo had won 64% of the presidential vote, giving him a third term in office.
Opposition groups argued the result was fraudulent.
In the election, Mr Bongo faced an opposition coalition led by economics professor and former education minister Albert Ondo Ossa, whose surprise nomination came a week before the vote.
Gabonese military appear on television as they announce they have seized power
Who announced the coup?
A group of nearly a dozen senior military figures made the announcement on the national TV channel Gabon 24.
They introduced themselves as members of The Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions and said they represented all security and defence forces in Gabon.
The group’s members were drawn from the gendarme police force, the republican guard and other elements of the security forces.
What’s happened in Gabon since the attempted coup?
The military leaders said election results were cancelled, all borders were closed until further notice, and state institutions dissolved.
Sounds of gunfire were reported in the Gabonese capital Libreville on Wednesday morning, but there did not appear to be significant signs of unrest.
Crowds in the capital took to the city’s streets to celebrate the end of Mr Bongo’s reign, singing the national anthem with soldiers.
A military vehicle passes people celebrating in Port-Gentil after soldiers announced a coup. Pic: Gaetan M-Antchouwet/Reuters
Where is Mr Bongo now?
Mr Bongo has been placed under house arrest following the coup.
What’s the history of elections and violence in Gabon?
Every vote held in Gabon since the country’s return to a multi-party system in 1990 has ended in violence.
Clashes between government forces and protesters following the 2016 election killed four people, according to official figures, but opposition groups said the true number killed was higher.
Another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in January 2019, while Mr Bongo was in Morocco recovering from a stroke. That uprising was foiled when two of the suspected coup plotters were killed and others arrested.
What about other coups in Africa?
The coup attempt came about one month after soldiers in Niger seized power from the democratically elected government.
It is the latest in a series of coups that have challenged governments with ties to France, the region’s former coloniser.
Gabon’s coup, if successful would bring the number of coups in West and Central Africa to eight since 2020.
Unlike Niger and two other West African countries run by military juntas, Gabon has not been wracked by jihadi violence and had been seen as relatively stable.
In his annual Independence Day speech on 17 August, Mr Bongo said: “While our continent has been shaken in recent weeks by violent crises, rest assured that I will never allow you and our country Gabon to be hostages to attempts at destabilisation. Never.”
Will the coup affect Europe?
The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said if a coup was confirmed it would heap more instability on Europe.
Speaking at a meeting of EU defence ministers, he said they would discuss the situation in Gabon.
“The whole area, starting with Central African Republic, then Mali, then Burkina Faso, now Niger, maybe Gabon, it’s in a
very difficult situation and certainly the ministers … have to have a deep thought on what is going on there and how we can improve our policy in respect to these countries,” he said.
“This is a big issue for Europe,” he added.
France is following the situation in Gabon very closely, said prime minister Elisabeth Borne on Wednesday, as she addressed a meeting of ambassadors in Paris.
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Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
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All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
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The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
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It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
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South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.
His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
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His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
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