Coup Belt
Geopolitical concept
African countries that have had successful coups between 2020 and 2023
Continent	Africa
Subregion	Sahel, West Africa and Central Africa
Countries	Burkina Faso   Chad   Gabon [a]   Guinea   Mali   Niger   Sudan

The Coup Belt ( French: la ceinture de coups d'État ^[1]) is a modern geopolitical concept and neologism which emerged during the 2020s to describe the region of West Africa, Central Africa and the Sahel that is home to countries with a high prevalence of coups d'état. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} After the 2023 Nigerien coup, these countries formed a continuous chain stretching between the east and west coasts of Africa. ^[6]

Overview

Origin

Although likely older, ^{[8] [9]} the term became popular in the 2020s after a string of coups in the early part of the decade, including in Mali in 2020 and 2021, ^[10] Chad, ^[6] Guinea, ^[11] and Sudan ^[12] in 2021, two in Burkina Faso in January and September 2022, ^{[13] [14]} and in Niger and Gabon in 2023. ^{[15] [16]} The region also saw attempted coups in Niger and Sudan in 2021, Guinea–Bissau and The Gambia in 2022, and Sudan, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso in 2023.

History

Since 1990, 21 of the 27 coups in sub-Saharan Africa have taken place in former French colonies. This has led some to question whether French influence in Africa has a destabilising impact. ^[17]

The military juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger cancelled military agreements that allowed for French troops to operate on their territory, and in the case of Mali, removed French as an official language. ^{[18] [19] [20] [21]}

ECOWAS has tried to actively work on changing this label that is associated with the region, although unsuccessfully; they suspended Mali after their coup in 2021, ^[22] and also suspended Guinea on 8 September 2021, shortly after a military coup took place in the country. ^{[23] [24]}

Looking at the subregion of West Africa alone, it should also be noted that the 2020 coup d'état in Mali occurred after a period of nearly six years, since the 2014 Burkina Faso upprising and the ousting of Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Compaoré, during which there was not a single undemocratic change of government in West Africa. ^[25] For this subregion, where many countries have a history of civil war and violent conflict, this was a period of remarkable stability, during which ECOWAS even managed to find a peaceful resolution to the 2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis.

The coups have largely been similar in nature; most came from dissatisfied militaries who criticised their respective government's handling of Islamic insurgents or protests since 2003. ^[6] The incoming juntas also tend to have worse relations with the West, with many seeking support from either Russia and the Wagner Group or Turkey instead of France, who helped the countries fight against Islamic insurgents through Operation Barkhane.

The 2023 Gabonese coup d'état was somewhat different, as Gabon was ruled for 56 years by the Bongo family before the coup, is not near or part of the Sahel, and did not suffer from Islamist or separatist insurgencies. However, the military coup occurred in the context of widespread protests over the conduct of the 2023 Gabonese general election, and led to the establishment of a presidential republic under a military junta. ^[26]

List of coups d'état in the Coup Belt

Date	Country	Event	Head of state or government	Coup leader(s)	Outcome
June 1957	Sudan	1957 Sudanese coup attempt	Abdallah Khalil	Abdel Rahman Ismail Kabeida	Coup failure
17 November 1959		1959 Sudanese coup attempt	Ibrahim Abboud		Coup failure
13 January 1963	Togo	1963 Togolese coup d'état	Sylvanus Olympio	Emmanuel Bodjollé Étienne Eyadéma Kléber Dadjo Nicolas Grunitzky	Coup successful
28 October 1963	Dahomey	1963 Dahomeyan coup d'état	Hubert Maga	Christophe Soglo	Coup successful
17 February 1964	Gabon	1964 Gabonese coup d'état	Léon M'ba	Jacques Mombo Valére Essone Jean-Hilaire Aubame	Coup briefly successful; M'ba restored following French intervention
31 December 1965 - 1 January 1966	Central African Republic	Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état	David Dacko	Jean-Bédel Bokassa	Coup successful
3 January 1966	Upper Volta	1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état	Maurice Yaméogo	Sangoulé Lamizana	Coup successful
16 January 1966	Nigeria	1966 Nigerian coup d'état	Nnamdi Azikiwe	Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu Emmanuel Ifeajuna	Coup failure
24 February 1966	Ghana	1966 Ghanaian coup d'état	Kwame Nkrumah	Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka	Coup successful
28 July 1966	Nigeria	1966 Nigerian counter-coup	Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi	Murtala Muhammed	Coup successful
13 January 1967	Togo	1967 Togolese coup d'état	Nicolas Grunitzky	Étienne Eyadéma	Coup successful
21 March 1967	Sierra Leone	First 1967 Sierra Leone coup d'état	Siaka Stevens	David Lansana	Coup successful
23 March 1967		Second 1967 Sierra Leone coup d'état	David Lansana	Andrew Juxon-Smith	Coup successful
18 November 1968	Mali	1968 Malian coup d'état	Modibo Keïta	Moussa Traoré	Coup successful
25 May 1969	Sudan	1969 Sudanese coup d'état	Ismail al-Azhari	Jaafar Nimeiry	Coup successful
19-22 July 1971	Sudan	1971 Sudanese coup d'état	Jaafar Nimeiry	Hashem al Atta	Coup briefly successful; Nimeiry restored following counter-coup
13 January 1972	Ghana	1972 Ghanaian coup d'état	Kofi Abrefa Busia	Ignatius Kutu Acheampong	Coup successful
26 October 1972	Dahomey	1972 Dahomeyan coup d'état	Presidential Council	Mathieu Kérékou	Coup successful
15 April 1974	Niger	1974 Nigerien coup d'état	Hamani Diori	Seyni Kountché	Coup successful
13-15 April 1975	Chad	1975 Chadian coup d'état	N’Garta Tombalbaye	Noël Milarew Odingar Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué	Coup successful
29 July 1975	Nigeria	1975 Nigerian coup d'état	Yakubu Gowon	Joseph Nanven Garba Murtala Muhammed	Coup successful
13 February 1976		1976 Nigerian coup attempt	Murtala Muhammed	Buka Suka Dimka	Coup failure; Muhammed assassinated
2-5 July 1976	Sudan	1976 Sudanese coup attempt	Jaafar Nimeiry	Sadiq al-Mahdi Muhammad Nour Saad	Coup failure
17 January 1977	People's Republic of Benin	1977 Benin coup attempt	Mathieu Kérékou	Bob Denard	Coup failure
10 July 1978	Mauritania	1978 Mauritanian coup d'état	Moktar Ould Daddah	Mustafa Ould Salek	Coup successful
6 April 1979		1979 Mauritanian coup d'état	Mustafa Ould Salek	Ahmed Ould Bouceif Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla	Coup successful
21 September 1979	Central African Empire	Operation Caban	Bokassa I	David Dacko	Operation successful
12 April 1980	Liberia	1980 Liberian coup d'état	William Tolbert	Samuel Doe	Coup successful
14 November 1980	Guinea-Bissau	1980 Guinea-Bissau coup d'état	Luís Cabral	João Bernardo Vieira	Coup successful
25 November 1980	Upper Volta	1980 Upper Volta coup d'état	Sangoulé Lamizana	Saye Zerbo	Coup successful
16 March 1981	Mauritania	1981 Mauritanian coup attempt	Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla	Ahmed Salim Ould Sidi	Coup failure
30 July - 4 August 1981	The Gambia	1981 Gambian coup attempt	Dawda Jawara	Kukoi Sanyang	Coup failure following Senegalese intervention
1 September 1981	Central African Republic	1981 Central African Republic coup d'état	David Dacko	André Kolingba	Coup successful
31 December 1981	Ghana	1981 Ghanaian coup d'état	Hilla Limann	Jerry Rawlings	Coup successful
3 March 1982	Central African Republic	1982 Central African Republic coup d'état attempt	André Kolingba	Ange-Félix Patassé	Coup failure
7 November 1982	Upper Volta	1982 Upper Voltan coup d'état	Say Zerbo	Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo	Coup successful
28 February 1983		1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état attempt	Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo	Saye Zerbo	Coup failure
4 August 1983		1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état		Thomas Sankara	Coup successful
31 December 1983	Nigeria	1983 Nigerian coup d'état	Shehu Shagari	Muhammadu Buhari	Coup successful
3 April 1984	Guinea	1984 Guinean coup d'état	Louis Lansana Beavogui	Lansana Conté	Coup successful
April 1984	Cameroon	1984 Cameroonian coup attempt	Paul Biya		Coup failure
12 December 1984	Mauritania	1984 Mauritanian coup d'état	Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla	Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya	Coup successful
6 April 1985	Sudan	1985 Sudanese coup d'état	Jaafar Nimeiry	Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab	Coup successful
27 August 1985	Nigeria	1985 Nigerian coup d'état	Muhammadu Buhari	Ibrahim Babangida	Coup successful
12 November 1985	Liberia	1985 Liberian coup d'état attempt	Samuel Doe	Thomas Quiwonkpa	Coup failure
23 September 1986	Togo	1986 Togolese coup attempt	Gnassingbé Eyadéma		Coup failure
23 March 1987	Sierra Leone	1987 Sierra Leonean coup d'état attempt	Joseph Saidu Momoh	Francis Minah	Coup failure
15 October 1987	Burkina Faso	1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état	Thomas Sankara	Blaise Compaoré	Coup successful
30 June 1989	Sudan	1989 Sudanese coup d'état	Ahmed al-Mirghani	Omar al-Bashir	Coup successful
18 September 1989	Burkina Faso	1989 Burkina Faso coup attempt	Blaise Compaoré	Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani Henri Zongo	Coup failure
22 April 1990	Nigeria	1990 Nigerian coup attempt	Ibrahim Babangida	Gideon Orkar	Coup failure
3 December 1990	Chad	1990 Chadian coup d'état	Hissène Habré	Idriss Déby	Coup successful
26 March 1991	Mali	1991 Malian coup d'état	Moussa Traoré	Amadou Toumani Touré	Coup successful
29 April 1992	Sierra Leone	1992 Sierra Leonean coup d'état	Joseph Saidu Momoh	Valentine Strasser	Coup successful
17 November 1993	Nigeria	1993 Nigerian coup d'état	Ernest Shonekan	Sani Abacha	Coup successful
22 July 1994	The Gambia	1994 Gambian coup d'état	Dawda Jawara	Yahya Jammeh	Coup successful
27 January 1996	Niger	1996 Nigerien coup d'état	Mahamane Ousmane	Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara	Coup successful
9 April 1999		1999 Nigerien coup d'état	Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara	Daouda Malam Wanké	Coup successful
24 December 1999	Ivory Coast	1999 Ivorian coup d'état	Henri Konan Bédié	Tuo Fozié	Coup successful
15 March 2003	Central African Republic	2003 Central African Republic coup d'état	Ange-Félix Patassé	François Bozizé	Coup successful
8-9 June 2003	Mauritania	2003 Mauritanian coup attempt	Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya	Saleh Ould Hanenna	Coup failure
14 September 2003	Guinea-Bissau	2003 Guinea-Bissau coup d'état	Kumba Ialá	Veríssimo Correia Seabra	Coup successful
7 October 2003	Burkina Faso	2003 Burkina Faso coup d'état attempt	Blaise Compaoré	Luther Diapagri Oualy	Coup failure
16 May 2004	Chad	2004 Chadian coup attempt	Idriss Déby	Bechir Haggar	Coup failure
5 February 2005	Togo	2005 Togolese coup d'état	Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba	Faure Gnassingbé Zakari Nandja	Coup successful
3 August 2005	Mauritania	2005 Mauritanian coup d'état	Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya	Ely Ould Mohamed Vall Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz	Coup successful
14 March 2006	Chad	2006 Chadian coup attempt	Idriss Déby	Tom Erdimi Timane Erdimi Seby Aguid	Coup failure
6 August 2008	Mauritania	2008 Mauritanian coup d'état	Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi	Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz Mohamed Ould Ghazouani	Coup successful
23 December 2008	Guinea	2008 Guinean coup d'état	Aboubacar Somparé	Moussa Dadis Camara	Coup successful
18 February 2010	Niger	2010 Nigerien coup d'état	Mamadou Tandja	Salou Djibo	Coup successful
16 July 2011		2011 Nigerien coup d'état attempt	Mahamadou Issoufou		Coup failure
21 March 2012	Mali	2012 Malian coup d'état	Amadou Toumani Touré	Amadou Sanogo	Coup successful
23-24 March 2013	Central African Republic	Battle of Bangui (2013)	François Bozizé	Michel Djotodia	Séléka victory
1 May 2013	Chad	2013 Chadian coup attempt	Idriss Déby	Moussa Tao Mahamat	Coup failure
3 November 2014	Burkina Faso	2014 Burkina Faso uprising	Blaise Compaoré	Honoré Traoré Yacouba Isaac Zida	Uprising successful
30 December 2014	The Gambia	2014 Gambian coup attempt	Yahya Jammeh	Lamin Sanneh	Coup failure
16 September 2015	Burkina Faso	2015 Burkina Faso coup d'état attempt	Michel Kafando	Gilbert Diendéré	Coup failure
7 January 2019	Gabon	2019 Gabonese coup attempt	Ali Bongo Ondimba	Kelly Ondo Obiang	Coup failure
11 April 2019	Sudan	2019 Sudanese coup d'état	Omar al-Bashir	Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf Abdel Fattah al-Burhan	Coup successful
18 August 2020	Mali	2020 Malian coup d'état	Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta	Assimi Goïta Malick Diaw Ismaël Wagué Sadio Camara Bah Ndaw	Coup successful
31 March 2021	Niger	2021 Nigerien coup d'état attempt	Mohamed Bazoum	Sani Saley Gourouza	Coup failure
20 April 2021	Chad	Death of Idriss Déby	Vacant	Mahamat Déby	Mahamat Déby takes office as leader of a military junta. Regarded as a coup by regional opposition.
24 May 2021	Mali	2021 Malian coup d'état	Bah Ndaw	Assimi Goïta	Coup successful
5 September 2021	Guinea	2021 Guinean coup d'état	Alpha Condé	Mamady Doumbouya	Coup successful
25 October 2021	Sudan	2021 Sudanese coup d'état	Abdalla Hamdok	Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Hemedti	Coup successful
23 January 2022	Burkina Faso	January 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état	Roch Marc Christian Kaboré	Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba	Coup successful
30 September 2022		September 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état	Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba	Ibrahim Traoré	Coup successful
15 April 2023	Sudan	War in Sudan (2023–present)	Abdel Fattah al-Burhan	Hemedti	Inconclusive; led to civil war [27] [28] [29]
26 July 2023	Niger	2023 Nigerien coup d'état	Mohamed Bazoum	Abdourahamane Tchiani Amadou Abdramane Salifou Modi Abdou Sidikou Issa Moussa Salaou Barmou	Coup successful
31 July 2023	Sierra Leone	2023 Sierra Leone coup plot	Julius Maada Bio	Mohammed Yetey Turay	Coup failure
30 August 2023	Gabon	2023 Gabonese coup d'état	Ali Bongo Ondimba	Brice Oligui	Coup successful
26 September 2023	Burkina Faso	2023 Burkina Faso coup attempt	Ibrahim Traoré	Abdoul Aziz Aouoba Cheikh Hamza Ouattara Christophe Maïga Sekou Ouedraogo Boubacar Keïta	Coup failure
26 November 2023	Sierra Leone	2023 Sierra Leone coup attempt	Julius Maada Bio	Dissident military officers, unidentified militants and prisoners	Coup failure
1 December 2023	Guinea-Bissau	2023 Guinea-Bissau coup d'état attempt	Umaro Sissoco Embaló	Victor Tchongo	Coup failure

Notelist

References