PRETORIA, August 30. /TASS/. The military officers who took power in Gabon have named Republican Guard head General Brice Oligui Nguema as transitional leader, Reuters reported, citing a statement one of the rebels read out on national television.

The French newspaper Le Monde reported earlier that the rebels planned to choose a transitional leader at a meeting of generals on Wednesday.

Earlier, a group of high-ranking officers in the Gabonese armed forces announced on state television that they had taken power in the country. The rebels consist of officers serving in the Central African nation’s security forces, armed forces and police, as well as members of the national guard and presidential guard. The rebels canceled the outcome of the August 26 presidential vote that resulted in President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s re-election as head of state. The military said that the president was under house arrest "surrounded by his family and doctors."