News – World: Senior officers in the Gabonese army announced, on Wednesday, “the end of the existing regime,” the cancellation of the elections, their seizure of power, the placing of President Ali Bongo Ondimba under “house arrest,” surrounded by his family and doctors, and the arrest of one of his sons on charges of “high treason.”

This came hours after the results of the presidential elections in the West Central African country were announced, and Bongo, who has ruled the country for 14 years, won as president for a third term, obtaining 64.27% of the votes, in elections that the opposition said were “rigged.”

The overthrow of President Bongo would end his family's 53-year grip on power in the country.
If successful, this would be the eighth coup in the former French colonies in Africa, during the past three years.

Coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger undermined French control over African colonies.
The Egyptian expert on African affairs, Raafat Mahmoud, said in his statements to the media, “First, we must say that what is happening in Gabon and Niger is not far from the events of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and the Sahel and Sahara region in general. And it is a restoration of the nature of the relations and alliances of those countries with powers outside Africa.” As well as a change of policies and leaderships.

He pointed out that “many factors contributed to that change, perhaps the most prominent of which is that there has been no real change, especially within the economic and political environment in those countries and their people are still suffering economically, and most of them are linked to the circle of French interests that previously colonized those regions, and thus the feeling of lack of independence increases.” economical than the former colonizer.

And the Egyptian expert continued: “They are changes related to the existence of a popular awakening towards the French presence in all its forms, and also the presence of other players in the continent who are pressing hard to remove Western influence, including the French, as the line extending from Central Africa, Chad and Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal, and now Gabon and Niger no longer want In the French presence.

They are also changes related to the existence of a popular awakening towards the French presence in all its forms, the new young generations in those countries, who are educated generations and are able to read the international reality and criticize the French presence in their countries, which saw the French development and development, but did not see it in their countries and what made them feel the existence of exploitation of the wealth of those countries from France's side.

He pointed out that the most important thing is that the leaders in those countries, especially those who led the changes, know that they will find support for them from other powers, and the continent of Africa has been undergoing changes for some time. And it is an echo of changes in the international system and is linked to them.
On the other hand, former member of the Bundestag (German Parliament), Armin Paulos Hampel, said today, Wednesday, that the events taking place in Gabon constitute a serious blow to France, and show that African countries are tired of the policies pursued by the West.

"This is a terrible blow to France, which has been able to maintain its influence since colonial times in West Africa," Hampel said to "Sputnik" agency. After Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and finally Niger, Gabon abandons the established French system that kept West Africa in the orbit of powers. western.”

Hampel ruled out that the wave of military coups in Africa would extend to other former French colonies, such as Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Senegal, but stressed that the influence of Russia and China in the region would increase.

It is expected that this coup will not be the last in African countries, and on the other hand, French influence will not surrender, and the current scene shows that conflict and instability are the theme of the coming days.