Gabonese Government Thrawts Ongoing Coup d’état

The government of Gabon, a French language speaking country in Western Africa, said that an attempted coup d’état by armed soldiers on Monday, January 7 was prevented, but its current status remains unknown. Afterward on Tuesday, January 8th, Gabonese state media reported that 2 soldiers suspected of the coup were killed and 8 military officers were arrested. These armed soldiers were to trying to attempt an overthrow of Gabonese President Ali Bongo, son of the country’s second president and dictatorial leader Omar Bongo.

Gabon is not the only country in Africa going through drastic changes. In the Northern African country of Sudan, public civilian protests against their longtime leader, President Omar Al Bashir, have been increasing since December 2018 and January 2019. Al Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in the Sudanese region of Darfur. On Sunday, January 12, the election officials in Congo-Kinshasa will finally announce initially delayed results from the December 2018 to replace longtime leader Joseph Kabila Kabange.