Gabonese President Ali Bongo has set on fire nearly five tonnes of illegal ivory worth $9.3m as part of attempts to deter¹ poaching.

加蓬总统阿里·邦戈下令销毁近五吨价值930万美元的非法象牙，以抵制非法狩猎。

Mr Bongo said the burning was meant to send a "strong signal" to those who still traded in ivory.

Conservation group WWF has welcomed the move, saying it was an "indication of the country's commitment" to curbing² elephant poaching and the ivory trade.

Trading in ivory is mostly illegal.

Exceptions have been made for ivory obtained legally, for example from animals killed as part of official culls³ to control local populations.

The pyre that was kindled⁴ in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, represented the central African nation's entire government stockpile of confiscated⁵（充公，没收） ivory, which resulted from the killing⁶ of some 850 elephants.

Mr Bongo said: "Gabon has a policy of zero tolerance⁷ for wildlife crime and we are putting in place the institutions and laws to ensure this policy is enforced.

"We don't want our children to inherit an empty forest. For that reason, we cannot allow this trafficking to continue."

The stock destroyed amounted to 4,825kg, including 1,293 pieces of rough ivory mainly composed of tusks⁸ and 17,730 pieces of worked ivory, the WWF said in a statement.

"We believe this is a strong signal of intent by Gabon against poaching and illegal wildlife trade - at a time of intense poaching pressure in central Africa, where the illegal killing of elephants for ivory is at record levels," it added.

The BBC's Charles Mavoungou in Libreville says the discovery of about 20 elephant carcasses in April last year in two national parks in the north of the country enabled the authorities to identify trafficking rings working across Cameroon, Chad, Congo and Sudan.

Since the elephant massacre⁹, wildlife security has been improved with park guards increased from 70 to 400 and the formation of a special 250-strong brigade（旅，大部队） of the paramilitary police for the national parks, he adds.