African Union suspends Gabon's membership after military coup

A military vehicle passes by people celebrating after military officers announced they had taken power, after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term, in Port Gentil, Gabon August 30, 2023 in this still image obtained from social media video. Gaetan M-Antchouwet via REUTERS

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - The African Union on Thursday suspended Gabon's membership one day after military officers ousted President Ali Bongo, the first regional response to the eighth coup in West and Central Africa since 2020.

The takeover ends the Bongo family dynasty's almost six decades in power and creates a new conundrum for a region hit with a wave of coups that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu called a "contagion of autocracy".