The restoration of the internet in Gabon appears to be partial, according to the monitoring group Netblocks Internet Observatory.

It has been cut off nationwide after the elections on Saturday, in what the government said was a move to prevent the spread of false news and outbreak of violence.

It was reported that internet access had been re-established several hours after soldiers announced this morning they were annulling the result of President Bongo's re-election.

Netblocks metrics, external now show a 16% connectivity.

Reuters news agency is now confirming the military statement we reported a few moments ago, which said that Gabon's President Ali Bongo was under house arrest.

The officers' statement was read out on state TV several hours after they announced their takeover in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

We've also had a comment on today's events from China - which says it is closely following the developing situation in Gabon. Army officers say they've seized power from President Ali Bongo.

During a press conference, a foreign ministry spokesman urged all sides to commit to dialogue in order to "restore normal order as soon as possible".

Wang Wenbin also called for the personal safety of President Bongo to be guaranteed.

Gabon's deposed President Ali Bongo Ondimba is under house arrest, the AFP news agency is quoting military officers as saying.

"President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors," they said in a statement read out on state TV.

One of the president's sons had been arrested for "treason", the statement reportedly added.

Shortly after army officers appeared on national television to say they had taken power, large crowds of people went on to the Boulevard Triomphal Omar Bongo, the main street of Gabon's capital, Libreville - according to a local journalist who spoke to BBC Afrique.

They were waving green, yellow and blue Gabonese flags to celebrate the military takeover.

Although they were initially mingling with soldiers and thanking them, the military then asked them to return home and move away from strategic areas.

France - the former colonial power in Gabon - is following events "with the greatest attention", says Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.

If the overthrow of President Ali Bongo is confirmed, Gabon would be the latest French-speaking nation in West African nation to experience a coup - following Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and most recently Niger.

French influence in the region has been undermined by the recent unrest, the AFP news agency reports.

These snaps which have reached us from the AFP news agency show residents of Gabon's capital, Libreville, applauding soldiers in the streets after the army announced its takeover this morning.

A Reuters reporter says hundreds of people have been celebrating in the centre of the city.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

A journalist living in Port-Gentil, Gabon's second city, has told the BBC about events in the country this morning.

Charles Stephane Mavoungou said he was woken by a friend in the capital, Libreville, who rang to say a coup was happening.

Speaking to the BBC World Service's Newsday programme, Mavoungou went on to describe seeing a communiqué being played again and again on the two national TV channels.

He said he was able to see various kinds of military officers.

"There's the presidential guard, the gendarmerie; from what it looks like, all the parts of Gabon's defence and security forces."

French mining group Eramet has reportedly "stopped" operations in Gabon following the takeover by the army.

The company said it had halted work “for the safety of staff and the security of operations”, the AFP news agency reports.

The company employs about 8,000 people in the mineral-rich country, a former French colony.

Its subsidiary extracts manganese ore from the Moanda mines, the world's largest manganese mines. The mineral is used in steel-making and batteries.

People in Gabon are facing a tough choice between a coup and “unelected leader”, a Gabonese activist Scheena Donia has told the BBC in reaction to the army takeover.

The coup leaders made the statement on national television on Wednesday morning. They said they were annulling the results of Saturday's election, in which President Ali Bongo was declared the winner.

The electoral commission said Bongo had won just under two-thirds of the votes in an election the opposition argued was fraudulent.

Donia, who lives in France and is also an entrepreneur, told BBC's Newsday programme that some in Gabon would prefer the coup to Bongo's continuing leadership. The president's family has been in power for 53 years, while Bongo himself has held office since 2009.

"Unfortunately there is no other way to have this person and this family leave power in Gabon," Donia said about the coup.

Nevertheless, the military takeover was "frightening", she said.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's a look at the man at the centre of this story - President Bongo.

• Born Alain Bernard Bongo in neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville in February 1959
• A one-time funk singer who stepped into his father's shoes to continue his family's 50-year rule
• He is seen by some as a spoilt, playboy prince who sees ruling the oil-rich country as his birthright
• Others view him as a reformer who has tried to diversify the economy, and who was voted into power democratically by the masses
• Throughout his entire time in office, President Bongo's legitimacy has been questioned by his opponents - with allegations of fraud following his 2016 election win
• He faced calls to step down in following a period of ill health in 2018, which resulted in a failed coup

Read more about him here.

Democratic governments in West and Central Africa are being increasingly challenged by the military.

The takeover came shortly after the electoral commission announced results of Saturday's election, which gave President Ali Bongo a third term.

Here’s how events unfolded this morning:

• 03:30 GMT (02:30 local time): The official election results are unexpectedly broadcast
• Around 04:15 GMT: Senior military officials appear on state TV Gabon24 and say they are taking power, adding that the borders would be shut “until further notice”
• Around 06:40 GMT: The EU foreign policy chief says a military takeover in Gabon would make the entire region more unstable.
• Around 06:50 GMT: Reports emerge that internet has been restored. It had been shut down countrywide after polls closed to prevent the spread of “false news” and possible violence.
• Around 07:30 GMT: AFP publishes photos of residents applauding members of the security forces in the Plein Ciel district of the capital, Libreville:

Image source, AFP

European Union defence ministers are to discuss the situation in Gabon, the body's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said.

"If this is confirmed, it is another military coup which increases instability in the whole region," the Reuters news agency has quoted Mr Borrell as saying during a meeting of EU defence ministers in Spain.

"The whole area, starting with Central African Republic, then Mali, then Burkina Faso, now Niger, maybe Gabon, it's in a very difficult situation and certainly the ministers... have to have a deep thought on what is going on there and how we can improve our policy in respect with these countries," he said.

Soldiers in Gabon called for "calm and serenity" as they announced they had taken over power in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

They said they had decided "to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime" soon after the electoral body declared that President Ali Bongo, who has been in power for 14 years, had won a third term

Their address on national TV, the soldiers said the elections "did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon".

Here's some of the quotes from the statement read on TV, as translated by the AFP news agency:

The internet has been restored in Gabon, hours after the country’s military announced that it was taking over power.

The government cut off access to the internet and imposed a curfew after the end of voting on Saturday, a move the government said was necessary to prevent the spread of misinformation and outbreak of violence.

Image source, Reuters

Welcome to BBC Africa Live, where we’ll be following events in Gabon where a group of senior military officers have announced on national television that they have seized power because elections held over the weekend were not credible.

The announcement came shortly after the state election body said President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term in office in Saturday’s disputed elections.

What we know so far

• The Gabonese Election Centre said Mr Bongo had secured 64.27% of the vote compared with 30.77% for his main challenger Albert Ondo Ossa, after a process beset by delays
• The officers, who appeared on Gabon24 in the early hours of Wednesday morning, said they had cancelled the elections, dissolved all state institutions and closed the country’s borders
• They said they represented all security and defence forces of Gabon
• His overthrow would end Bongo's family's 53-year hold on power in the country
• The whereabouts of President Bongo are unknown.

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Twelve officers appear on national television to announce they are cancelling the results of Saturday's election.

The military took over the government in Niger. Here’s why the US doesn’t want to call it an overthrow.