Liberia, 1981 — dissident coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an event coded as an attempted dissident coup in Liberia on 9 August 1981 during the early rule of Master Sergeant Samuel Doe, who had seized power in the bloody April 1980 coup that overthrew and killed President William Tolbert and ended more than a century of Americo Liberian dominance. Doe's People's Redemption Council, a group of young enlisted soldiers now wielding absolute power, was riven by rivalries, paranoia, and violent score settling among its members. In August 1981 Doe moved against his own deputy and co-coup maker, accusing a faction led by Major General Thomas Weh Syen and several other council members of plotting to assassinate him and seize power.
Weh Syen and four other PRC members were arrested and swiftly executed. Whether a genuine countercoup was afoot or Doe fabricated the plot to eliminate rivals, in the pattern that would recur, remains debated. Doe survived and consolidated his increasingly brutal and tribalist rule until he was himself captured, tortured, and killed in 1990 during the civil war unleashed by Charles Taylor's rebellion.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
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
45008091981
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Master Sergeant Samuel Doe crushed the alleged August 1981 plot and executed his deputy Weh Syen, consolidating power.
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
The Globe and Mail
The Irish Times
South China Morning Post
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 →