No Foul Play Seen in Gabon Death

Authorities said Thursday that opposition leader Joseph Redjambe, whose death in a hotel room sparked a week of riots in this central African country, had died of natural causes and not from foul play.

An autopsy on Redjambe’s body revealed no traces of violence and showed that the syringe marks on his body resulted from a treatment for diabetes, French and Gabonese officials said.

Redjambe’s death in a Libreville hotel room last week sparked riots across Gabon and nearly halted oil production. Redjambe was found with syringe marks on his abdomen, and officials said the Ivory Coast woman he met at the hotel has disappeared. The government has not permitted Redjambe’s funeral to be held for fear it might spark further riots.

The number of victims in the street fighting in the oil producing center of Port Gentil rose to three Thursday with the death of a man killed by troops after he opened fire on them, witnesses said.

Gabon was reported generally calm Thursday, with oil production almost back to the normal 270,000 barrels a day after having dropped to only 20,000 barrels a day.