UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said coups only make crises worse, emphasising the need for durable governance and the rule of law.

Guterres said this on Thursday while highlighting the succession of military coups unfolding across Africa at a press encounter at UN Headquarters, in New York.

Wednesday’s military takeover in Gabon came on the heels of July coup in Niger, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Chad, Guinea, Sudan and Mali in the years prior to that.

Overall, all recent coups except Myanmar, in 2021, have taken place on African soil.

The announcement of the takeover in Gabon came shortly after election results were announced saying incumbent president Ali Bongo had been re-elected, amid reports of irregularities at the polls.

“Many countries face deep-seated governance challenges. But military governments are not the solution.

“They aggravate problems. They cannot resolve a crisis; they can only make it worse,” Guterres said.

The UN chief called on all countries to urgently establish credible democratic institutions and rule of law.

Guterres highlighted the need to strengthen international bodies such as the African Union, in their diplomatic efforts to foster peace, stability and democracy on the continent.

At the same time, conditions need to be created that allow African citizens to address the root causes of political instability; lack of development being a major factor, he said.

“Development is a central objective if we want to create conditions for peace and stability in Africa,” the secretary-general said, in response to a question from a journalist.

Africa has experienced seven coups since August 2020, before the one on Wednesday in Gabon.

Others are Niger · Sudan · Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Chad.