Coup Atlas Research Database
← Back to explorer
40412022001ConspiracyDissident coup

Guinea-Bissau, 2001 — dissident coup conspiracy

Guinea-Bissau (GNB)West Africa, AfricaDecember 2, 2001

Event Summary

This entry is coded 2 December 2001, corresponding to the alleged coup plot that President Kumba Yala's government claimed to have foiled in early December 2001 in Guinea-Bissau. Yala, of the Social Renewal Party and a member of the Balanta ethnic group, had been elected president in 2000 and governed erratically until his own overthrow in September 2003. His rule was marked by chronic instability: in November 2000 former junta leader and army chief General Ansumane Mane was killed in a clash with government forces after a dispute over military promotions, and Yala repeatedly clashed with parliament, sending back the draft constitution with demands for increased presidential powers.

In this climate the government announced in early December 2001 that it had foiled a coup plot, although the opposition questioned whether any real plot existed. Various members of opposition parties were subsequently detained and held without charge. The 2 December 2001 coding matches this early-December 2001 alleged plot and the arrests that followed.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Yala survived the alleged 2001 plot but was ousted in a September 2003 coup
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Kumba Yala (target)
detained opposition party members
the post-Mane army

Sources

Yala's government claimed to have foiled a coup plot in early December 2001, although the opposition questioned its existence, and various members of opposition parties were subsequently detained and held without charge.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Kumba Yala open source ↗
Yala did not veto or promulgate the draft constitution approved by the National Assembly in 2001, instead sending it back to parliament with recommendations for increased presidential powers.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Kumba Yala open source ↗
After Yala tried to promote military officers in November 2000 in a manner disputed by army chief Ansumane Mane, Mane announced he was taking control of the armed forces, and was killed in a clash with government forces on 30 November 2000.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Kumba Yala open source ↗
Kumba Yala, president from 17 February 2000, was deposed in a bloodless military coup on 14 September 2003.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Kumba Yala open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 2 Dec 2001 matches the early-December 2001 alleged plot that Yala's government said it foiled; the opposition disputed its existence and detainees were held without charge. Verified as a discrete (opposition-disputed) event. Second Guinea-Bissau record in the run (after Nov 1985, Paulo Correia).

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
40412022001

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Yala survived the alleged 2001 plot but was ousted in a September 2003 coup.

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

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

BBC Monitoring Africa - Political

“Guinea-Bissau: Top officers arrested following attempted coup,” December 3, 2001

Irish Times

“Coup foiled in Guinea-Bissau: [CITY EDITION],” December 4, 2001

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 →

Know something about this event?
Tips are reviewed against sources before anything is added.