Operation Caban was a bloodless military operation by France in September 1979 to depose Emperor Bokassa I, reinstate the exiled former president David Dacko, and rename the Central African Empire back to Central African Republic.[1][2][3]
| 1979 Central African coup d'état | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 House of Bokassa Armed Forces loyalists |
Armed Forces rebels France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Bokassa I |
David Dacko Valéry Giscard d'Estaing | ||||||
History
editBy January 1979, Emperor Bokassa had become a widely resented autocrat. His fall was precipitated by a decree that all high school students must buy uniforms from a business owned by one of his wives. This led to protests by students in Bangui and rocks thrown at the Emperor's car. In April 1979, Bokassa called in the Central African Armed Forces to put down the agitation and arrest the teenage students. In the following two days, about 100 children were brutally killed and the incident became known as the "children's massacre at Bangui."
A panel of judges convened and proposed to arrest and try Bokassa for the massacre. Bokassa then fled to Libya, seeking Muammar Gaddafi's assistance. The French reacted and soon launched Operation Barracuda to overthrow Bokassa and install David Dacko, who was then in exile in Europe. French troops arrived from Gabon and Chad, and the coup was successful, restoring Dacko to the presidency after a 13-year absence, and restoring the Central African Republic (CAR). Bokassa, who was overthrown by the French, was given refuge in France.[1]
Bokassa eventually returned to the CAR in 1987, where he was immediately arrested and sentenced to death, which was commuted to life in prison a year later. As one of his last acts in office in 1993, President André Kolingba granted a general amnesty for all prisoners, including Bokassa, who died three years later.[1]
The coup was known as Operation Caban, while the movement of four French paratrooper troupes de marine and four helicopters was Operation Barracuda. The coup was completed on 21 September 1979 in just a few hours. The affair did not bring accolades to France: while many in CAR supported the coup, many in France including President Giscard-d'Estaing were criticised for their handling of the situation.[2][4]
Footnotes
edit- ^ a b c Matt Doeden (2009). Central African Republic in Pictures. Twenty-First Century Books. pp. 29–. ISBN 9781575059525. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ^ a b "The Bradshaw's Archives – Central African Republic / Ubangi-Shari". France's Relations With Africa. The Bradshaw's Archives: Ono.com. 4 April 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ^ Bokassa, Jean-Barthélémy (2009). Saga Bokassa (in French). SODEPAR SAS. pp. 145–. ISBN 9782358080712. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ^ Alain Rouvez (1994). Disconsolate Empires: French, British and Belgian Military Involvement in Post-Colonial Sub-Saharan Africa. University Press of America. pp. 172–174. ISBN 9780819196439. Retrieved 25 July 2013.