Niger, 1983 — military coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted military coup in Niger on 5 October 1983 against the government of President Seyni Kountche, who had ruled since seizing power in 1974 and had survived earlier plots including one in 1976. By 1983 Kountche's austere military regime faced renewed factional tension within the armed forces and the security establishment. In October 1983 a coup was attempted against him, reportedly while he was abroad, led by elements of the presidential guard or disaffected officers.
The attempt was suppressed by loyalist forces, and the plotters were arrested; some were tried and punished. Kountche used the affair, as he had earlier ones, to purge suspected opponents and reinforce his personal control over the security apparatus. He survived this and continued to rule Niger until his death from illness in 1987, when he was peacefully succeeded by his army chief of staff Ali Saibou, in a rare orderly transfer of power in a country whose politics had otherwise been shaped by military intervention.
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
43610051983- Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-436-1983-10-05
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Seyni Kountche crushed the October 1983 coup attempt and ruled Niger until his death in 1987.
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
Christian Science Monitor
Boston Globe
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 →