[20190109]IN11013_加蓬未遂政变.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Failed Coup Attempt in Gabon name redacted Analyst in African Affairs name redacted Specialist in African Affairs Updated January 9, 2019 On January 7, a small group of Gabonese soldiers seized the state broadcasting building in Gabons capital, Libreville, and declared their intention to overthrow the government of President Ali Bongo Ondimba. Within hours, security forces retook the building and put down the coup attempt. The attempt followed months of political uncertainty after the president (aged 59) suffered a stroke in Saudi Arabia in October 2018; he has since remained outside the country and is currently convalescing in Morocco. Separately, the coup attempt came days after President Trump announced the deployment, beginning on January 2, of “approximately 80” U.S. military personnel to Libreville as a standby force to protect “U.S. citizens, personnel, and diplomatic facilities” in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), should the security situation there deteriorate in the wake of December 2018 elections. Shortly after the coup attempt, a U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) spokesperson stated t