Five rebel soldiers who took over the radio station this morning have been arrested.

The generals, civil society members and opposition figures they listed as their supporters are being investigated.

Gabon’s government spokesman Guy-Bertrand Mapangou says everything is under control in Libreville.

The coup bid, condemned by the French Government and the African Union,  has been crushed.

It took place while President Ali Bongo is recovering in Morocco from a stroke suffered while visiting Saudi Arabia two months ago.

He took over from his father Omar Bongo who died in 2002.

There have been calls for an end to the 50-year-long Bongo dynasty in the oil-rich country of two million where a third of the population live in poverty. 

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The coup leader says a New Year’s eve address by Bongo reinforced doubts about the president’s ability to continue to carry out of the responsibilities of his office.

Speaking for the putschists is Lieutenant Kelly Ondo Obiang. 

He leads the self-declared Patriotic Movement of the Defence and Security Forces of Gabon.

He’s calling on Gabonese to join his national restoration movement. 

President Ali Bongo has been out of the country since suffering a stroke while attending an economic summit in Saudi Arabia two months ago.

There have been several calls of late for an end to the Bongo dynasty that started with Omar Bongo seizing power in 1967.

Ali Bongo took power after his father’s death in 2002.

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The lawmakers are at odds with growing public protests calling for an end to the Bongo dynasty.

Gabonese are saying ça suffit – that’s enough  – with increasingly regularity and volume.

They’re referring to the 50-year Bongo dynasty.

President Ali Bongo came to power in 2009 on the death of his father Omar Bongo who had been at the helm for 42 years.

Oil-rich Gabon has the highest per capita income in Africa.

But the average disguises the reality.

The United Nations says 60 percent of the 1,7 million Gabonese live below the poverty line.

Youth unemployment is  37 percent.

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Jean Ping who narrowly lost the poll has gone into hiding after a military helicopter straffed his opposition party headquarters.

The United Nations Security Council and U.S. State Department have both appealed for calm  and urged Gabonese to accept the election result.

They’re also urging the security forces to accept the constitutionally guaranteed rights of Gabonese residents and citizens.

In the post-election violence, the National Assembly and other buildings have been set on fire.

Ali Bongo beat former chairman of the African Union Jean Ping 49.8 percent to 48.2 percent.

He came to power following the death of his father Omar Bongo in 2009, who held the presidency for 42 years.

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President Ali Bongo, seeking a second term, comes up against Jean Ping who was foreign minister in his father Omar Bongo’s government.

ends intro

Omar Bongo ruled the oil rich little country in west-central Africa for 42 years.

Now his son, Ali Bongo Ondimba, is seeking a second seven-year term as president on a pledge to diversify an economy that gets 60% of its revenue from oil.

The man  hoping to end the Bongo family’s long lock on power is former African Union Commission chief Jean Ping.

He faces an uphill battle against Bongo, who is backed by the country’s powerful elite and leaders of France, the country’s former colonial master.

Tensions are high ahead of the vote.

Opposition leaders have been barred from organising public rallies, raising fears of election fraud.

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