Comoros, 1977 — military coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted military coup in the Comoros on 4 June 1977 during the turbulent revolutionary rule of President Ali Soilih, who had seized power in 1975 and launched a radical program to transform the conservative Indian Ocean island society. Soilih, who governed with a cadre of young followers, attacked the power of the traditional elites and Islamic clergy, abolished many customary institutions, burned government archives, and empowered a youth militia, alienating much of the population. His erratic and increasingly repressive rule provoked recurrent unrest and plots.
A coup attempt in June 1977 came within that instability and did not unseat Soilih. His regime, however, was living on borrowed time. In May 1978 the mercenary Bob Denard, who had originally helped bring Soilih to power, returned at the head of a small mercenary force and overthrew him, restoring the exiled former president Ahmed Abdallah; Soilih was killed shortly afterward, reportedly shot while trying to escape.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
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
58106041977- Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-581-1977-06-05
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Ali Soilih survived the June 1977 plotting but was overthrown by Bob Denard's mercenaries in 1978.
Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. 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
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
Luttwak
Baltimore Sun
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 →