No plan to evacuate dozens of Dutch people in Gabon following coup

There are at most a few dozen Dutch people in Gabon, where the military seized power on Tuesday, said outgoing Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra. There are currently no plans to evacuate EU citizens from the West African country.

“A relatively limited group” of Dutch people reside in Gabon, Hoekstra said upon his arrival in Toledo, Spain, where he will consult with EU colleagues about the sudden wave of military coups in Africa, among other things.

“Deeply concerned about the recent developments in Gabon. We are closely monitoring the news reports following the coup and assessing the current situation in the country,” Hoekstra said about the coup on X, formerly Twitter. “We urge everyone to refrain from violence and to prioritize the safety and well-being of the Gabonese people.”

Experience shows that there are probably more Netherlands residents in the country than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs knows about. Hoekstra, therefore, urged Dutch people in Gabon to “please report.” The Ministry can’t provide assistance if it doesn’t know about you.

So far, EU countries aren’t yet evacuated their citizens from Gabon, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrel said. Evacuations did occur with earlier coups in Sudan and Niger, for example.