Mali, 1978 — military coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 28 February 1978, corresponding to the arrest of the powerful gang of three within the ruling Military Committee of National Liberation in Mali, on charges of plotting a coup against President Moussa Traore. Tiecoro Bagayoko, director of the security services, Kissima Doukara, minister of defense and internal security, and Karim Dembele, minister of transport and public works, had become the most influential and notorious figures of the junta that had ruled Mali since 1968. By 1977 tensions had grown between them and Traore over his plan to move toward civilian rule under a Second Republic, which they opposed.
On 28 February 1978 Traore had all three arrested, announcing the move in a radio broadcast that accused them of high treason, disclosure of state secrets, slander, and speculation. Foreign Minister Charles Samba Sissoko, their alleged pick to replace Traore, was arrested in March. The three were tried in October 1978, and Bagayoko and Doukara later died in the Taoudenni salt mines.
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
43202281978
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Traore consolidated control by purging the gang of three; he ruled Mali until 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
Powell and Thyne
New York Times
Globe and Mail
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 →