Gabon: EU foreign policy chief says no plans yet for evacuation of citizens

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that at the moment the European Union has no plans to evacuate citizens from Gabon.

"In Gabon, at the moment, there are [no evacuation plans]. The situation is calm. We don't see any risk of violence, or a situation that could [be] danger[ous]. There are about 10,000 EU citizens in Gabon but no country has expressed concern over their situation. So, no plan for evacuation in Gabon, in Niger however we did evacuate."

Borrell told reporters on Thursday (Aug. 31) that the situation was calm after a military coup ousted newly-reelected President Ali Bongo.

There are approximately 10,000 EU citizens in Gabon.

Gabonese awoke Thursday to a new military leader after mutinous soldiers ousted Bongo, whose family had ruled the oil-rich Central African nation for more than five decades.

Bongo’s family has been accused of endemic corruption and not letting the country’s oil wealth trickle down to the population of some 2 million people.