| 1968 Malian coup d'état | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Government of Mali | Junior officers of theArmy | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Modibo Keïta | Moussa Traoré Tiécoro Bagayoko Kissima Dukara Youssouf Traoré Filiping Sissoko Soungalo Samaké | ||||||
The1968 Malian coup d'état was a bloodlessmilitarycoup inMali staged on 19 November 1968 against the government of PresidentModibo Keïta. The coup was led by Lieutenant (later Major General)Moussa Traoré, who then became the head of state.
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President Keïta, father of Malian independence, had ruled asocialist government since 1960, supported by his party, theSudanese Union – African Democratic Rally (US-RDA). However, his politics faced economic difficulties. In 1966, he suspended the constitution and the parliament, replaced by aComité National de Défense de la Révolution with full powers.[1] The population was increasingly dissatisfied by the government.[2] A coup was plotted by Malian junior officers, in particularlieutenantsMoussa Traoré,Tiécoro Bagayoko, Kissima Doukara, Youssouf Traoré and Filifing Sissoko, andnon-commissioned officers such asadjudant-chef Soungalo Samaké.[3] The Malian senior officers had little or no control on their subordinates.[4]
Unlike many putsches in French former colonies, this one was not supported by foreign actors. The two prominent organizers of pro-Western coups in Africa,Houphouët-Boigny,President of Ivory Coast, andJacques Foccart, adviser for African affairs ofCharles de Gaulle,President of France, were surprised by the coup.[5]
During the night of November 18–19, at midnight, the putschists gathered theKati garrison and announced them their intentions. The telephone network was cut off at 2 am and cadres of the US-RDA were arrested before dawn. The soldiers stopped President Keïta's convoy as he was going back toBamako fromMopti. They wanted him to be arrested atKoulikoro when landing from his riverboat, theGénéral Abdoulaye Soumaré, but Keïta was ahead of schedule and hisCitroën DS was blocked at 10 am at Kayo, a few kilometers from Bamako.[3] Lieutenant Bagayoko asked "Monsieur le président, voulez-vous vous mettre à la disposition de l’armée ? [Mr. President, would you like to make yourself available to the army?]" and the officers forced him into aBTR-152 armored personnel carrier.[5] He was brought to the center of the capital by 11:30. They demand him to stop his socialist policy and to replace his collaborators but Modibo Keïta refused, arguing he was democratically elected as a socialist.[1] However, according to Captain Abdoulaye Ouologuem, driver of the presidential car, the mutineers only demanded new elections but the president refused.[5] The military faction then broadcast a radio message announcing "the dictatorial regime [...] has fallen".[1]
Due to the poor economic record of President Keïta, the coup was well received by the population.[1] However, the immediate causes for the coup were overwhelming financial and economic problems, made worse by an especially poor harvest in 1968.[6] Modibo Keïta,First LadyMariam Travélé, and other members of the previous regime were imprisoned inKidal andTaoudenni. Modibo Keïta died in captivity in Bamako in 1977.[1] Ten lieutenants (Moussa Traoré,Baba Diarra, Youssouf Traoré, Filifing Sissoko,Tiécoro Bagayoko, Joseph Marat, Mamadou Sanogho, Cissema Toukara, Moussa Kone andKarim Dembele) and four captains (Yoro Diakité, Malik Diallo, Charles Cissoko and Mamadou Cissoko) formed theMilitary Committee for National Liberation.[7] Moussa Traoré became its Chairman and promised democracy and free elections, that never came. He was proclaimed President in 1969 and ruled the country until he was deposed in the1991 coup d'état.[8]
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