ECOWAS sanctions on Niger appear to be a double-edged sword. Many Nigerians living near the border with Niger, which Nigeria shut after the coup, say the economic and humanitarian impacts are enormous.

The profound disillusionment gripping Zimbabweans since the 2017 coup has left them questioning their fight for democracy. Experts say military juntas in West Africa may face the same challenge if they don't change.

The pact allows Mali and Burkina Faso to provide military assistance to Niger in the event of military intervention against the putschists there.

Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday, placing President Ali Bongo under house arrest and naming a new leader after the Central African state's election body announced Bongo had won a third term.

After Gabon's long-ruling President Ali Bongo Ondimba was re-elected for a third term in a controversial election, members of the local military say they have taken over.

EU foreign policy chief Borrell said the coup followed "elections full of irregularities." He addressed reporters ahead of an EU meeting with African stakeholders to also discuss Niger's coup.

We bring you reactions from the pan-African and French press after the coup in Gabon and appointment of a general as transitional president. What future awaits the region? Also: one of India's richest families, the Adani Group, is accused of stock market corruption in a damning report. Finally: Japan's prime minister eats fish from Fukushima's radioactive waters to prove that it's... not radioactive!

The EU foreign ministers met to discuss ways to help West Africa's ECOWAS regional group handle the military takeover in Niger. The meeting came the junta stripped the French ambassador of diplomatic immunity.

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Gabonese hope for jobs, eventual civilian rule following military coup

General Brice Oligui Nguema was sworn in as Gabon's interim president on Monday in a ceremony designed to portray the military as liberators of an oppressed society.

Niger's military rulers are reopening the country's airspace after seizing power on July 26. The junta previously cited the threat of military intervention from the West African bloc ECOWAS as the reason for the closure.