1972 People's Republic of the Congo coup d'état attempt | |||||||
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Part of the Cold War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Pro-Ange Diawara faction |
On February 22, 1972 a radical-left faction of the ruling PCT attempted a coup against Congolese president Marien Ngouabi. [1] The coup was led by Ange Diawara, along with other Politburo members including Claude-Ernest Ndalla and Jean-Baptiste Ikoko. [2] Joachim Yhombi-Opango was instrumental in ending the coup. [1] The musician Franklin Boukaka was killed in the coup, as was former Minister Élie Théophile Itsihou. [3]
After more than a year of evading capture, [4] Diawara was captured in Kinshasa. He was extradited by the Zairian authorities in April 1973 and executed along with other conspirators shortly afterwards. [5] The bodies of Diawara and Ikoko were publicly exhibited in the Stade de la Révolution . [6]