1977 Beninese coup attempt
Failed overthrow of President Mathieu Kérékou by French-led mercenaries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On 17 January 1977, a group of French-led mercenaries tried and failed to overthrow the government of the People's Republic of Benin led by Mathieu Kérékou, whose communist party—the People's Revolutionary Party of Benin (PRPB)—was the only allowed political party in the country. The coup, which was also known as Opération Crevette ("Operation Shrimp"), included a failed invasion of the port city of Cotonou by mercenaries contracted by a group of exiled Beninese political rivals.[1]
Beninese victory
- Coup attempt failed
| 1977 Beninese coup attempt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Cold War in Africa | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Supported by  North Korea |
Supported by  Togo Ivory Coast Gabon Morocco | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Mathieu Kérékou |
 Bob Denard (WIA) | ||||||
Bob Denard was the leader of the mercenary group and although Jacques Foccart denied knowledge of the attempted coup after its failure, he did recognize that it was backed by Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo), Félix Houphouët-Boigny (Ivory Coast), Omar Bongo (Gabon) and Hassan II (Morocco), all allies of France.[2] Documents accidentally left behind by Denard during the coup attempt further substantiated the involvement of Bongo, Hassan, Eyadéma and French counsellor on African affairs René Journiac.[3][4]
The coup would be one of several against Kérékou who survived numerous attempts to oust him, including two coup attempts in 1988.[5]