Gabon’s government has arrested a group of soldiers who seized the oil-rich central African nation’s state radio station early on Monday morning, seemingly ending a coup attempt against President Ali Bongo, who is recovering in Morocco from a stroke. The government announced that the attempted coup plotters had been arrested just six hours after they had seized the radio station and declared their intention to “restore democracy” to the nation of 2m, according to the BBC and Radio France Internationale.
The soldiers had said a New Year’s eve address by Mr Bongo, which had been meant to reassure citizens that he was healthy after months of relative silence from the government, had “reinforced doubts about the president’s ability to continue to carry out the responsibilities of his office”. The soldiers said they represented the Patriotic Movement of the Defence and Security Forces of Gabon. News agency AFP reported that gunshots were heard in the capital Libreville, where the BBC said tanks and armed vehicles could be seen. Reuters, citing a source close to the government, reported that “the plotters appeared to be a small group of soldiers”. Gabon is a member of Opec but is one of the smallest producers in the oil cartel, pumping just under 200,000 barrels a day in November, or approximately one-tenth of the output in Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer. Oil prices were up almost 2 per cent on Monday at $58 a barrel, extending a rebound from last week.
Gabon’s economy has been pressured by lower oil prices since 2014, when the rise of the US shale industry undermined the $100-a-barrel oil era. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the majority of Gabon’s oil exports go east towards Asia and Australia, with only some being shipped to Europe and occasionally the US.
Total output in the country has almost halved since 1997, but still makes up a significant percentage of government revenues. In 2014 it made up 45 per cent of revenue, according to the IMF. France’s Total and Royal Dutch Shell are among the biggest producers in the country. Mr Bongo’s family has ruled Gabon for almost fifty years. He took office in 2009 after the death of his father Omar. The younger Mr Bongo’s re-election in 2016 was disputed by claims of vote rigging and marred by a violent state crackdown on opposition protests.
Imad Mesdoua, senior analyst for political risk consultancy Control Risks, said there was little clarity about the attempted coup, but that it might be the result of broader infighting among Gabon’s elites over the country’s future. “In recent weeks, multiple behind-the-scenes discussions have been taking place in Libreville about what a post-Ali Bongo or indeed a post-Bongo family era would look like,” he said. “What we might be witnessing is a set of actors involved in these internal debates taking actions into their own hands, but the overall situation remains unclear.”
The news comes as the US military deployed 80 soldiers and equipment to Gabon to protect US citizens and diplomats in the event of violent protests following disputed elections in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr Bongo reportedly suffered a stroke during Saudi Arabia’s “Davos in the Desert” summit two months ago. The government originally said he was suffering from exhaustion and, later, “bleeding”.
Additional reporting by David Sheppard in London
