| 1996 Guinean coup attempt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Republic of Guinea Armed Forces | Dissenting faction of the armed forces | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Lansana Conte | Gbago ZoumanigulLt. Lamine Diarra | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 2000 soldiers | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 20-40 deaths | |||||||
The1996 Guinean coup attempt was a failedcoup d'état inGuinea by dissident elements within theGuinean military against theLansana Conté government. Originally a mutiny over a pay dispute, where around 2,000 soldiers demanded higher pay and better benefits, it then escalated into an attempted military overthrow which nearly toppled the government.[1] By February 3, an agreement had been reached and state radio instructed soldiers to return to their units.[2][3]
The coup attempt reportedly began in the early hours of February 2 in the nation's capital -Conakry. During the twelve-hour-long clashes against the government forces,[4] the rebels seized control of the capital's deserted city center and continuously shelled the presidential palace, which started a fire.[2] The bloody clashes resulted in as many as forty deaths, mostly civilians.[4] Rebel forces also captured President Conté,[5] yet he was later freed after promising to raise soldiers' salaries.[6]
In the aftermath of the failed coup, around a hundred military personnel were arrested: forty were later released due to insufficient evidence while fifty-seven still remained in detention as of January 1998.[7] Commander Gbago Zoumanigul, a key figure in instigating the coup, fled the country toLibya, while another important leader - Lieutenant Lamine Diarra - was handed over to government authorities after trying to seek refuge in theMalian embassy of the capital.[7] Several top army officials implicated still remained at large, including Colonel Ibrahima Sory Diallo, Colonel Abdouramane Kaba, Sama Panival Bangoura, Mohammad Lamine Traore, and Oumah Soumah.[7]
