Gabon’s coup leaders have announced a re-opening of the country’s borders.
Gatekeepers News reports that the announcement came three days after soldiers seized power from President Ali Bongo.
The Army Spokesperson, while speaking on national television on Saturday, said the reopening of the border is because the junta was “concerned with preserving respect for the rule of law, good relations with our neighbours and all states of the world.”
He added that the junta wanted to keep its “international commitments.”
He added that the land, sea and air borders would be reopened “with immediate effect.”
The military officers led by former Head of the Country’s Presidential Guard, Brice Oligui Nguema, had cited institutional, political, economic, and social crises as reasons for the coup.
After announcing that they had seized power, the soldiers, who identified themselves as members of the Committee of Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), said they were dissolving “all the institutions of the republic”.
The military men also announced the closure of the country’s borders.
The coup the eighth in West and Central Africa in three years.
It has raised concerns about a contagion of military takeovers across the continent, painting a picture of democratic regress.
Meanwhile, Oligui is due to be sworn in as the transitional president on Monday.
