PRETORIA, September 4. /TASS/. Gabon’s membership in the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) has been suspended following the state coup in the country, Reuters said on Monday.

The decision was made at an emergency meeting of the organization. The agency quoted President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo as saying that the developments in Gabon jeopardize peace, security and stability in other ECCAS countries.

Earlier, the ECCAS condemned the state coup in Gabon and called for restoring constitutional order in the country.

Set up in 1983, the Economic Community of Central African States includes 11 Central African countries, namely Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe. In 2000, the ECCAS countries signed an agreement to establish the Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa (COPAX), which provides for joint efforts to maintain security in the region.

On August 30, senior Gabonese military officers announced on national television that they had seized power in the country. The rebels canceled the results of the August 26 presidential election that installed Ali Bongo Ondimba as president for a third straight term. The military said that the president was under house arrest "surrounded by his family and doctors." Later on August 30, the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions appointed General Oligui as transitional president. proclaimed Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema as the country’s transitional leader. He was sworn in as president on September 4.