Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday and had put President Ali Bongo under house arrest. The military seized control minutes after the Central African state's election body announced he had won a third term. The officers said they represented the armed forces. They said on television that the election results were canceled. They also said the borders were closed and state institutions had broken up. The military takeover took place after a vote that was set to extend the Bongo family's 50-plus years in power. The Gabon officers call themselves The Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions. They said the country faced "a severe institutional, political, economic, and social crisis." They said the August 26 vote was not credible.
