U.S. officially concludes Gabon gov't ousted in coup

Oct. 24 (UPI) -- The United States has concluded that a military coup d'etat has taken place in Gabon, the State Department said as it suspended most U.S. assistance to the African nation.

The declaration, announced by the U.S. government late Monday, comes nearly two months after the Gabon government of President Ali Bongo Ondimba was ousted by the military on Aug. 30.

The junta seized power hours after Gabon's election commission announced Bongo had been elected to a third term, extending his family's more than five-decade dynastic rule of the country that began with the president's father, Omar Bongo, in 1967.

Ali Bongo, who succeeded his father in 2009, had secured two-thirds of the vote in the September election, which opponents argued was fraudulent.

The United States and the European Union came out against the seizure, though both voiced concerns over the electoral process that preceded the government takeover.

The Biden administration late last month then paused foreign assistance programs that the State Department suspended Monday.

"Pursuant to section 7008 of the Department of State's annual appropriations act, the United States is suspending most U.S. assistance to the government of Gabon," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said late Monday in a statement, while stating the United States' humanitarian, health and education assistance to the country will continue.

"The United States reaffirms our 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," he said.

"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 coup in Gabon came about a month after Niger fell in a military coup in late July.

Africa has seen at least eight military coups -- six that resulted in a change of power -- since August of 2020.