LIBREVILLE, Gabon: As many as 12 Gabonese soldiers appeared on television Wednesday morning announcing they were cancelling the results of the recent election and dissolving “all the institutions of the republic”, as AFP journalists heard gunfire in the capital Libreville.
After observing “irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion that risks leading the country into chaos… we have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime”, one of the soldiers said on TV channel Gabon 24, speaking on behalf of the “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions”.
The group of soldiers announced that the country’s borders were closed until further notice, in a statement broadcast on the Gabon 24 television channel. “The borders are closed until further notice,” said one of the soldiers, speaking on behalf of a “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions”. —AFP
