The Rwandan leader, known for his brutal crackdown on the media and opposition, also retired 83 senior officers, 06 junior officers and 86 senior non-commissioned officers, 678 end-of-contract officers, while 160 were discharged on medical grounds discharges,” the statement said.

In Cameroon, Mr Biya, who spends most of his time in Switzerland, is also not leaving his grip on the country to chance as he immediately shuffled the officers in the army, air force and marine.

The sweeping changes in Cameroon and Rwanda came barely hours after the coup in Gabon, where President Ali Bongo Ondimba was toppled and placed under house arrest by soldiers. Both leaders did not reference the coups in Niger and Gabon in their respective decisions.