The United States has concluded that a military coup d’état has taken place in Gabon, suspended most assistance to the Gabonese Government.
According to the statement released from office of the State Department Spokesman, Mathew Miller on Monday while the suspension is in accordance with pursuant to section 7008 of the Department of State’s annual appropriations act.
Recall that this foreign assistance has been temporarily paused by the United States since September 26 as United States underscored that its humanitarian, health, and education assistance will continue to benefit the people of Gabon.
The United States reaffirmed its commitment to support Gabon in conducting a timely and durable transition to democratic civilian governance and advancing shared security interests in the Gulf of Guinea.
“We will resume our assistance alongside concrete actions by the transitional government toward establishing democratic rule.
“We will continue to work closely with the Gabonese people and regional partners. The United States stands with the Gabonese people in their aspirations for democracy, prosperity, and stability”, the statement added.
Gabonese military junta took over the power of the Goverment in Republic of Gabon which ousted President Ali Bongo on 30 August 2023.
The alleged coup leader in Gabon, Brice Oligui Nguema, who heads the Gabonese Presidency’s Republican Guard, the country’s most powerful security unit.
Minutes after Gabon’s electoral commission announced that President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term in office, senior military officers announced a coup and annulled the election results.
According to local media reports, Brice Clothaire Oligui Nguema, the commander -in-chief of the Gabonese Republican Guard – the country’s most powerful security unit – and a cousin to Bongo, is the ringleader of the attempted coup.