| 2001 Ivorian coup attempt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Armed Forces of the Republic of Ivory Coast | Dissenting faction of the armed forces | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Laurent Gbagbo | Ibrahim Coulibaly | ||||||
The2001 Ivorian coup attempt was a failedcoup d'état in theIvory Coast by dissident factions of theIvorian military trying to toppleLaurent Gbagbo's government. The coup attempt began on the night of January 7 when rebel forces staged attacks on state broadcast facilities and the presidential residence inAbidjan,[2][3] airing out the message "Dear compatriots, dear Ivorians. The country has undergone another change." after successfully seizing the broadcasting stations.[4]
The following clashes between government forces and the dissident soldiers caused at least six deaths, including two policemen.[4] The rebel forces were routed and driven away from state radio stations in the city.[3] In the retaken radio stations, government ministers issued a broadcast reassuring the country that the coup attempt had been foiled.[3] A three-day long curfew was imposed following the attempted coup andFelix Houphouet Boigny airport was also closed momentarily.[3][5] In the end, government forces had arrested forty soldiers involved in the coup attempt and detained them.[4]
The coup attempt, led byIbrahim Coulibaly (IB), came to be known as theBlack Mercedes Plot, named after the command vehicle IB used.[1]
The government implicated the supporters ofAlassane Ouattara, who was disqualified from participating in the2000 Ivorian Presidential Election, of being behind the coup attempt,[4] suggesting potential motives could be grievance over his exclusion from the elections due to contested claims of foreign birth.[4] The party spokesman for Quattara's partyRally of the Republicans denied such involvement, saying "We have understood the insinuation, I think they could take advantage of a situation like this to settle their score with us."[6]
