Gabonese Leader Kidnaped During Walk Near Home

The president of the Gabonese National Assembly was kidnaped while taking a stroll around his neighborhood, his family said today.

The kidnaping Tuesday evening of Augustin Boumah, 63, a leading member of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party, came as the army consolidated its control of the petroleum center of Port Gentil after a week of anti-government riots and fighting in which two people were killed and 14 others seriously injured.

Boumah’s family said he had gone for a walk in his Libreville neighborhood when an unspecified number of armed men took him prisoner. No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnaping and the government has made no comment on the disappearance.

Opposition leader Joseph Redjambe’s death in a Libreville hotel room last week sparked riots across the Central African country and nearly halted oil production. Redjambe was found with syringe marks on his abdomen and officials said the Ivory Coast woman he met there has disappeared.