Rabat is following closely the developments taking place in Gabon, said on Wednesday Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement, stressing the importance of preserving the stability of this African country and the tranquillity of its people.
“Morocco trusts the wisdom of the Gabonese nation, its driving forces and its national institutions, to move forward towards a perspective that will enable it to act for the supreme interests of the country, safeguard the gains made and meet the aspirations of the brotherly Gabonese people,” added the statement.
A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power after the state election body announced the country’s President Ali Bongo had won a third term.
If successful, the coup would be the eighth in west and central Africa since 2020. The most recent one, in Niger, was in July, while the military has also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad.
The Gabon events come just weeks after members of the presidential guard in Niger seized power and established a junta.
The African Union, through the voice of the AU Commission chaorperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has strongly condemned the attempted coup d’état in Gabon.
Moussa Faki Mahamat has denounced a “flagrant violation of the legal and political instruments of the AU,” in a press release issued Wednesday. He called “on the national army and security forces to adhere strictly to their republican vocation and to guarantee the physical integrity of the President of the Republic, members of his family, and those of his government.”
The Chairman of the AU Commission said he is following “with great concern the situation in Gabon” and “encourages all political, civil and military actors in Gabon to give priority to peaceful political avenues, and a rapid return to democratic constitutional order in the country.”
The European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday, as the region faces increased instability, that EU Defense ministers will discuss the developing military situation in Gabon as well as the bloc’s wider approach to the Sahel.
“If this [Gabon] is confirmed, it is another military coup which increases instability in the whole region,” Borrell said, noting that “the whole area – starting with Central African Republic, then Mali, then Burkina Faso, now Niger, maybe Gabon – it’s in a very difficult situation.”
“This is a big issue for Europe,” underlined EU’s top diplomat, saying that both EU foreign and defense ministers will discuss over the next two days “what is going on there and how we can improve our policy in respect with these countries.”