Another coup on the continent: Military officers in oil-rich Gabon said on Wednesday that they seized power in the African country and put President Ali Bongo under house arrest after he won a third term in Saturday’s disputed election. Should the coup succeed, it would put an end to the political dominance of the Bongo family, which has been in power since 1967.

Do we sense a pattern here? The putsch comes a month after mutinous troops seized power in Niger, drawing condemnation from the West and threats of military action from other west African states. Should the Gabon coup succeed, it would be the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020.

Egypt reax: Egypt’s foreign ministry said it is closely monitoring developments and called on all sides to maintain security and stability.

Bond traders don’t tend to like coups: Gabon’s international bonds fell the most on record, with USD bonds due 2025 and 2031 posting the biggest drops among emerging-market peers, Bloomberg reports. The shares of some European firms with operations in Gabon joined the sell-off. Eramet, Maurel & Prom, and a listed unit of TotalEnergies — France-based firms — as well as Norway’s Panoro Energy all saw their share prices fall.

The story is everywhere in the foreign press: Associated Press | Reuters | Bloomberg | New York Times | Washington Post | BBC.

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