Mali, 1971 — palace coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 7 April 1971, coded as a palace coup, corresponding to the removal of two officers from the ruling Military Committee of National Liberation, the CMLN, that governed Mali under Moussa Traore. The CMLN had seized power in the bloodless coup of 19 November 1968 that overthrew the socialist government of independence leader Modibo Keita, forming a fourteen-member junta of lieutenants and captains with Lieutenant Moussa Traore as chairman. Within this junta, factional rivalries developed among the young officers, and in 1971 disagreements led to the removal of two of its members, an intra-committee purge that consolidated Traore's control.
This was distinct from the later 1978 affair, when four other officers who opposed a return to civilian rule were accused of planning a coup and arrested, two dying in prison. The April 1971 coding corresponds to the earlier 1971 internal removal within the military committee.
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
43204071971
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Traore consolidated control of the CMLN; he ruled Mali until his own overthrow in 1991.
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
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
Luttwak
New York Times
Washington 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 →