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Gabon Junta Appoints Interim Prime Minister

Gabon's coup leaders have announced the appointment of a prominent opponent to deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba as interim prime minister, following the August 30 military takeover.

The 68-year-old Raymond Ndong Sima had previously served as prime minister under Bongo from 2012 to 2014. He then became a staunch critic and competed against him in elections in 2016 and 2023. He fared poorly at the latest polls, whose results announcing Bongo's contentious win were soon followed by the military coup.

Bongo has been released and is free to travel abroad, the military junta ruling the country has said. Al Jazeera reports that Bongo, who had been held under house arrest since a military coup on August 30, was removed from power shortly after he was declared the winner of much-criticised elections..

The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) has suspended Gabon's membership during an extraordinary summit in Djibloho, Equatorial Guinea, and condemned the use of force to resolve political conflicts.

The ECCAS summit took place on the same day that General Brice Oligui Nguema, who ousted former President Ali Bongo in a coup, has been sworn in as transitional president in Libreville.

Crowds in Libreville and elsewhere celebrated the army's declaration. But the coup was condemned by the United Nations, the African Union and France, which had close ties to the Bongo family.

The U.S. state department urged Gabon's military to "preserve civilian rule" and urged "those responsible to release and ensure the safety of members of government". The UK condemned the "unconstitutional military takeover" of power.

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© Sébastien Nemeth / RFI

A courthouse in Libreville (file photo).

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