Military officers seized Gabonese National Radio, the state radio station, early Monday in Libreville, the capital.
The soldiers announced their intent to establish a national restoration council.
Lieutenant Kelly Ondo Obiang said on the airwaves that President Ali Bongo’s recent radio address “reinforced doubts about the president’s ability to continue to carry out the responsibilities of his office.”
The president is in Morocco, recovering from a stroke.
The French news agency AFP reports that shots were heard at the state television offices in the Libreville at the same time the military statement was being read on the radio.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently deployed American military personnel to Gabon because of fears on political unrest in neighboring Congo~VOA
