Government spokesman Guy-Bertrand Mapangou announced the deaths and arrests after soldiers briefly seized the radio station and broadcast a message saying Bongo was no longer fit for office after suffering a stroke in Saudi Arabia in October.
The quick failure of Monday’s coup and the lack of widespread support suggest further efforts to overthrow Bongo are unlikely, analysts said. But the attempt alone shows a growing frustration with a government weakened by the President’s secretive medical leave.
On Dec. 31, in one of his first television appearances since the stroke, Bongo, 59, slurred his speech and he appeared unable to move his right arm. It is unclear if he is able to walk. He has been in Morocco since November to continue treatment.
In a radio message at 4:30 a.m. (0330 GMT), Lieutenant Kelly Ondo Obiang, who described himself as an officer in the Republican Guard, said Bongo’s New Year’s Eve address “reinforced doubts about the president’s ability to continue to carry out of the responsibilities of his office”.
News source: African Reuters
read more:https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN1P11K3-OZATP
