The African Union’s Peace and Security Council on Friday said it has suspended Gabon from all AU activities following the recent coup.
In its communique seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the AU said it decided to “immediately suspend the participation of the Republic of Gabon in all activities of the AU, its Organs and institutions until the restoration of constitutional order in the country.”
Senior military officers in Gabon on Wednesday announced that they had taken over the government because elections held in the Central African country on Saturday were not credible.
Few hours later, General Brice Nguema, leader of Gabon’s elite Republican Guard, who was in charge of the president’s security, was named transition leader.
The African Union condemned the coup and ordered the military to immediately return to the barracks and to “unconditionally return power to the civilian authority, uphold their constitutional mandate, and the principle of constitutionalism, and refrain from any interference in the political processes in Gabon.”
Failure to do so will attract necessary measures including the imposition of targeted sanctions against the perpetrators of the coup d’état, the Council said.
Several world leaders including Nigeria, UN, France, and EU have condemned the coup.
