Dignitaries attend Bongo funeral

LIBREVILLE, Gabon, June 16 (UPI) -- Scores of dignitaries from around the world converged on Libreville Tuesday for the state funeral of Cabon's late President Omar Bongo.

Among them were French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, Voice of American and Xinhua reported.

"The death of President Bongo is not only a huge loss for Gabon, but also a great loss for Africa as a whole," Zhang said.

Bongo, 73, who died of cardiac arrest June 8 while in Spain to be treated for cancer, is to be buried in his home village of Franceville Thursday, VOA said.

Among the other heads of state to pass before Bongo's body as it lay in state at the presidential palace were Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo, Faure Gnassaingbe of Togo, Paul Biya of Cameroon and Francois Bozize of Central African Republic.

Former French President Jacques Chirac also was in attendance.

Bongo was the longest-serving head of state in Africa, having assumed power in 1967. His administration had been dogged by accusations of corruption in recent years.