The Gabonese army announced on Saturday its decision to reopen the country’s borders, which had been closed following the military coup that removed ex-president Ali Bongo from power.
A spokesperson for Gabon’s military rulers made this announcement on state TV, stating that they had chosen to reopen land, sea, and air borders with immediate effect, starting from this Saturday.
Earlier in the week, a group of 12 Gabonese soldiers had declared the closure of the country’s borders until further notice in a statement broadcasted on the Gabon 24 television channel.
General Brice Oligui Nguema, the leader of the elite Republican Guard, led a coup against President Ali Bongo Ondimba on Wednesday, just after Bongo, aged 64, had been declared the winner of the presidential elections over the weekend. The opposition had labeled the election results as fraudulent.
The coup leaders announced the dissolution of the nation’s institutions, the annulment of the election results, and the closure of the borders.
Oligui is scheduled to be sworn in as the “transitional president” on Monday.
It’s worth noting that in the past three years, five other African countries, namely Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Niger, have also experienced coups. Their new leaders have resisted calls for a swift return to barracks.
