Coup Atlas Research Database
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48305012013ConspiracyMilitary coup

Chad, 2013 — military coup conspiracy

Chad (TCD)Central Africa, AfricaMay 1, 2013

Event Summary

This entry is coded 1 May 2013, corresponding to the 2013 Chadian coup attempt against President Idriss Deby, foiled that day. Clashes broke out on the afternoon of 1 May 2013 in military barracks east of the capital N'Djamena and in residential areas of the capital, lasting about a day, during which between four and eight people were killed. Former rebel leader Moussa Tao Mahamat was accused of leading the plot and was arrested the same day.

The government announced it had foiled an attempt to destabilize the institutions of the republic and said the plotters had been under surveillance since December 2012; President Deby later denounced a conspiracy like the Arab Spring. Four members of parliament, including opposition figures Saleh Makki and Gali Gatta Ngothe, two generals, a colonel, journalists, and several soldiers were arrested and charged with plotting and undermining the constitution. Some observers noted that Deby's elite troops were then deployed in Mali fighting Islamist militants, and critics suspected he was using the affair to purge rivals such as the former presidential contender Saleh Makki.

The 1 May 2013 coding matches the foiling of the plot.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Deby foiled the plot, arrested MPs and officers, and remained in power
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Idriss Deby (target)
former rebel leader Moussa Tao Mahamat (alleged ringleader)
arrested opposition MPs Saleh Makki and Gali Gatta Ngothe

Sources

The 2013 Chadian coup attempt against President Idriss Deby was foiled on 1 May 2013, with clashes in military barracks east of N'Djamena and in residential areas of the capital killing between four and eight people, and alleged leader Moussa Tao Mahamat, a former rebel, was arrested the day the coup was foiled.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 2013 Chadian coup attempt open source ↗
On 1 May 2013 Communications Minister Hassan Sylla Bakary said on state television that a group of individuals with bad intentions had sought to destabilise the institutions of the republic but had been tracked by security forces since December 2012 and neutralised that morning.
SOURCE REVIEWED France 24: Chadian government thwarts attempted coup open source ↗
On 8 and 9 May seven detainees were formally charged with plotting, seeking to undermine the constitution, and accessory to murder, and those charged included opposition MPs Saleh Makki and Gali Gatta Ngothe, ruling-party MPs, and two generals.
SOURCE REVIEWED Human Rights Watch: Chad, Alleged Coup Attempt No Excuse to Ignore Rights open source ↗
A political scientist suggested the coup may have been timed to coincide with Chad's forces being tied up in Mali, while others noted Deby was taking advantage of good relations with the West to clean house and get rid of plausible rivals such as Saleh Makki, a former presidential contender.
SOURCE REVIEWED France 24: Chadian government thwarts attempted coup open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 1 May 2013 matches the foiling of the 2013 Chadian coup attempt exactly. Verified; note critics suspected it was used to purge opposition rivals. Second Chad record in the run (after Mar 2006).

Cross-Reference

Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
48305012013
Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-483-2013-05-01

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Deby foiled the plot, arrested MPs and officers, and remained in power.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

Taranaki Daily News

“Chad foils coup attempt,” May 3, 2013

New York Beacon

“Central African U.S. ally survives coup attempt,” May 16, 2013

Michigan Citizen

“Central African U.S. ally survives coup attempt by army officers,” May 19, 2013

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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