Gabon president returns after failed coup

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Gabon's President Ali Bongo has returned to his country just over a week after an attempted coup.

President Bongo had been in Morocco, where he was seeking treatment after reportedly suffering a stroke in October in Saudi Arabia.

He came back in the early hours of Tuesday ahead of a ceremony where a new cabinet was sworn in.

The appointment of new ministers is seen as an attempt to boost the chances of the president remaining in power.

Mr Bongo succeeded his father Omar Bongo as president in 2009. He narrowly won re-election in 2016 in a poll marred by violence and accusations of fraud.

Last week, a group of soldiers announced that they had seized control of the government.

But the attempt to take power was short-lived as forces loyal to the president swiftly overpowered the renegade soldiers.

Between the president and his father, the Bongo family have been in power for more than half a century.

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