Angola and Congo condemn military takeover in Gabon

Heads of State of Angola João Lourenço and Congo Dennis Sassou N’Guesso condemned Thursday the seizure of power by force in Gabon, having called for respect for the physical integrity of President Ali Bongo Odimba, his family and senior entities in State institutions.

This followed a short visit the President João Lourenço paid to Congo, at the invitation of his Congolese counterpart. The two Statesmen dicsussed the latest developments related to the unconstitutional change of Government in the Gabonese Republic, which took place on the 30th of this month.

According to the final communiqué of the meeting, the two Heads of State urged all actors to give priority to the political dialogue as a way of preserving the peace, unity and serenity of the Gabonese people.

The document states that both Statesmen highlighted the need to convene an extraordinary summit of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

The objective is to provide the organisation with leadership in order to avoid a legal vacuum and ensure its permanent activities, taking into account what happened to Gabon.

They also highlighted the excellent historical, friendly and cooperative relations that exist between the Republics of Angola and Congo and decided to maintain regular consultations on issues of common interest, contributing to the preservation of peace in the sub-region.

Angola, Congo and Gabon belong to the Central African States sub-region.

The President João Lourenço was designated African Champion of Peace and Reconciliation by the African Union..

A group of senior Gabonese military officers on Wednesday announced that they had taken power and detained President Ali Bongo, minutes after the state election body declared the winner of Saturday’s general election.

Appearing on state-run television channel Gabon 24, the officers said they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation.

They said the election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)