This time it's Gabon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_G..._d%27%C3%A9tat
The coup is in the wake of an election widely perceived as fraudulent.
There's a possibility this one won't last, since France has had close ties with the deposed ruling family for decades and has strong economic and military interests in the country. France has several hundred soldiers and airmen in the country, with the main element being the
6e bataillon d'infanterie de marine. Despite its name, the 6e BIMa is really only company-strength, but probably better-trained than most of the Gabonese Army.
I suppose a negotiated settlement, with the military returning to the barracks in return for a third-party review of the election results and a transition to a new civilian government, is possible.
As the Wikipedia article notes, this is "the eighth successful coup to occur in West and Central Africa since 2020". Most of the other coups have been in or near the Sahel in countries with large Muslim populations, and the coups have had connections to the Islamist violence in the region. Gabon is only 10% Muslim, so religious tension and Islamist terrorism are less of an issue there.
Linear Mode
