A call for help to the world from the leader arrested by the coup plotters

President Ali Bongo, detained by a group of soldiers in Gabon, sent a message of help to his followers from his home.

Bongo, who was under house arrest by soldiers, called on his friends and the world to “do something” with a video message he took from his residence and shared on social media. Bongo said: “These people stopped me. My son is being held somewhere, my wife is not with me. I’m home too, but I don’t know what’s going on. I’m telling our friends, the world, to do something, to make a sound. Thank you.”

A group of soldiers, who entered the national television building in the central African country of Gabon early in the morning, announced that they had taken over the administration. The military, calling itself the “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI)”, announced that the elections held on August 26 were canceled and the country’s borders closed.

The current President Ali Bongo Ondimba won the presidential elections held on August 26 for the third time. Ali Bongo, 64, took over the seat in 2009 from his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the country for more than 41 years.

A curfew was imposed alleging that “violence” was practiced in the last hours of the electoral process in the country, and the Internet was restricted while the post-election vote counting process continued. Opponents, on the other hand, reacted to the government’s practices, with opposition leader Ondo Ossa claiming that the elections were rigged in his presidential fight against Ali Bongo. (AA)