The military, who staged a coup in Gabon yesterday, announced the commander of the Republican Guard, General Brice Oligui Nguema, as the "interim president" of the West African country, AFP reported.

The communiqué was read out last night on Gabon 24 TV.

"General Brice Oligui Nguema was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Transition and Institutional Restoration Committee, as the Transitional President," an officer announced in the presence of dozens of senior military personnel.

According to the communiqué, these officers represent all the corps of the Gabonese army.

The coup plotters did not specify how long they plan the transition in power to last.

At the same time, they announced they were maintaining a curfew imposed four days ago by their ousted president, Ali Bongo. The measure will remain in force "until further notice", with the aim being "to preserve peace".

The curfew will begin at 6 p.m. and continue until 6 a.m. the following morning.

This means that the coup d'état increases its duration by one hour. Deposed President Ali Bongo had announced a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next morning, AFP noted.

The coup plotters also announced that they were restoring the broadcasting of foreign francophone media in Gabon.

It was suspended on Saturday evening, the day of the presidential election in which Ali Bongo was declared the winner. However, the military who carried out the coup announced that they did not recognize the results published by the Central Election Commission.

Germany, meanwhile, became the next Western power to condemn the coup.

In an email sent to AFP, a spokesman for Germany's foreign ministry condemned the coup "despite legitimate criticism of the transparency of the election". "Gabonese women and men must be able to freely and independently choose their future," it stressed.

The Bongo family ruled Gabon for more than half a century.

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