1979 Central African coup d'état
Date 19–20 September 1979 (Operation Caban) 1979–1981 (Operation Barracuda) Location Central African Empire Result Coup succeeds. Bokassa I is exiled. TheCentral African Empire is overthrown. The Central African Republic is restored.
Belligerents
House of Bokassa Armed Forces loyalists	Armed Forces rebels France Chad Zaire
Commanders and leaders
Bokassa I	David Dacko Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Operation Barracuda was a military operation byFrance during 1979-1981, to return to power the former President of theCentral African Republic,David Dacko. It followed upOperation Caban of 21 September 1979, a bloodless military operation in which EmperorBokassa I of theCentral African Empire was overthrown by French paratroopertroupes.

Part ofa series on the
History of the Central African Republic
Early history Trans-Saharan slave trade c. 1500–1600
Colonial period French Equatorial Africa   French Congo 1882–1910   French Chad 1900–1960   Ubangi-Shari 1903–1958   French Cameroon 1918–1960 Decolonization   Kongo-Wara rebellion 1928–1931   Brazzaville Conference 1944–0000   African Democratic Rally 1946–1958
Independence Bokassa period 1966–1979   Bokassa coup d'état 1966–0000   Central African Empire 1976–1979      Coronation of Bokassa I 1977–0000         Emperor of Central Africa Operation Caban 1979–0000   Operation Barracuda 1979–1981 Kolingba coup d'état 1981–0000 Patassé coup attempt 1982–0000
Current period General election 1993–0000 Heightened tensions 1993–1998   Bangui Peace Accords 1997–0000   United Nations Mission 1998–0000 Bush War 2004–2007   Kolingba coup attempt 2001–0000   Bozizé coup d'état 2003–0000 Civil War 2012–0000   Conflict under Djotodia 2013–2014      Fall of Bangui 2013–0000
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Barracuda was led by French Colonel Bernard Degenne, based inN'Djamena (the capital ofChad), who gave the code nameBarracuda to fourAérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopters and fourTransall C-160 transport aircraft, which carried elements of the8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment to the Central African capital ofBangui. At noon, a company of the3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment fromLibreville (the capital ofGabon), was also transported to Bangui.^[1]

Until November 1979,Barracuda aimed to protect French citizens in the country and the Dacko government, in addition to supporting theCentral African Armed Forces (FACA) in maintaining order. Afterwards, it aimed to rebuild and instruct FACA to ensure the stability of the country.Barracuda ended in June 1981 and was replaced by the "French Elements of Operational Assistance" which remained in the Central African Republic until 1998.^[2]

• Françafrique, a term referring to the continuation of French involvement in its former African colonies

• 1979 in the Central African Republic
• Central African Republic–France relations
• Military operations involving France
• Conflicts in 1979
• French involvement in regime change
• 1970s coups d'état
• Military coups in the Central African Republic
• 20th-century military history of France

• Articles with French-language sources (fr)
• CS1 French-language sources (fr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata