LIBREVILLE, Gabon, April 13 (UPI) -- Riots broke out Monday in Gabon after opposition leader Andre Mba Obame died over the weekend.
Obame, 57, died Sunday in Yaounde, Cameroon, after a lengthy and unspecified illness.
The announcement of his death prompted riots in the capital of Libreville. Protesters razed the Beninese embassy and multiple vehicles.
Obame, a member of the National Union party, came in third in 2009 in Gabon's presidential election, which was won by Ali Bongo Ondimba. Obame said he was the rightful president and in 2011 set up a parallel government.
Gabon dissolved the NU party and accused Obame of treason, though the NU party was reinstated in February.
Ali Bongo Ondimba's chief of staff, Maixent Accrombessi, is from Benin, which is why protesters attacked the Beninese embassy.
Obame also served as the interior minister under the regime of Omar Bongo Ondimba, father of Ali Bongo Ondimba.
