Gabon government thwarts coup attempt; 2 plotters dead

LIBREVILLE, Gabon — Gabon’s government thwarted an attempted military coup on Monday, retaining control of the oilrich West African nation after two plotters were killed and other army officers were arrested, the government said.

According to a presidential statement reported by Radio France International, five army officers who took over state radio were arrested. Two other coup plotters were killed when security forces took over and freed some hostages.

A curfew was imposed over the capital, Libreville, and internet service was cut.

Earlier Monday a soldier who identified himself as Lt. Obiang Ondo Kelly, commander of the Republican Guard, announced on state radio that the military had seized control of Gabon’s government in order to “restore democracy.”

Those soldiers have been taken into custody and President Ali Bongo’s government remains in control, a government spokesman said.

Bongo, 59, who has been in power since 2009, has been out of the country since October amid reports that he had a stroke. He recently addressed the country in a New Year’s message that was filmed in Morocco, where he has been receiving medical treatment.

Gabon, sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest oil producer, has been ruled for more than half a century by Bongo and his father, Omar, who died in 2009.

Critics have accused the family of profiting from the country’s natural resources while not investing enough in basic services for the population of more than 2 million.