Operation Caban

1979 Central African coup d'état
Date 21 September 1979 Location Central African Empire (now Central African Republic) Result Coup attempt succeeds. Bokassa I is exiled. The Central African Empire is overthrown. The Central African Republic is restored.
Belligerents
House of Bokassa Armed Forces loyalists	Armed Forces rebels  France
Commanders and leaders
Bokassa I	David Dacko Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Operation Caban was a bloodless military operation by France in September 1979 to depose Emperor Bokassa I, reinstate the exiled former president David Dacko, and rename the Central African Empire back to Central African Republic.^[1][2][3]

Part of a series on the
History of the Central African Republic
Early history Kanem Empire c. 700–1380 Trans-Saharan slave trade c. 1500–1600 Sultanate of Bagirmi 1522–1897 Wadai Empire 1635–1909
Colonial period French Equatorial Africa    French Congo 1882–1910    French Chad 1900–1960    Ubangi-Shari 1903–1958    French Cameroon 1918–1960 Decolonization    Kongo-Wara rebellion 1928–1931    Brazzaville Conference 1944–0000    African Democratic Rally 1946–1958
Independence Bokassa period 1966–1979    Bokassa coup d'état 1966–0000    Central African Empire 1976–1979       Coronation of Bokassa I 1977–0000          Emperor of Central Africa Operation Caban 1979–0000    Operation Barracuda 1979–1981 Kolingba coup d'état 1981–0000 Patassé coup attempt 1982–0000
Current period General election 1993–0000 Heightened tensions 1993–1998    Bangui Peace Accords 1997–0000    United Nations Mission 1998–0000 Bush War 2004–2007    Kolingba coup attempt 2001–0000    Bozizé coup d'état 2003–0000 Civil War 2012–0000    Conflict under Djotodia 2013–2014       Fall of Bangui 2013–0000
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By January 1979, Emperor Bokassa had become a widely resented autocrat. His fall was precipitated by a decree that all high school students must buy uniforms from a business owned by one of his wives. This led to protests by students in Bangui and rocks thrown at the Emperor's car. In April 1979, Bokassa called in the Central African Armed Forces to put down the agitation and arrest the teenage students. In the following two days, about 100 children were brutally killed and the incident became known as the "children's massacre at Bangui."

A panel of judges convened and proposed to arrest and try Bokassa for the massacre. Bokassa then fled to Libya, seeking Muammar Gaddafi's assistance. The French reacted and soon launched Operation Barracuda to overthrow Bokassa and install David Dacko, who was then in exile in Europe. French troops arrived from Gabon and Chad, and the coup was successful, restoring Dacko to the presidency after a 13-year absence, and restoring the Central African Republic (CAR). Bokassa, who was overthrown by the French, was given refuge in France.^[1]

Bokassa eventually returned to the CAR in 1987, where he was immediately arrested and sentenced to death, which was commuted to life in prison a year later. As one of his last acts in office in 1993, President André Kolingba granted a general amnesty for all prisoners, including Bokassa, who died three years later.^[1]

The coup was known as Operation Caban, while the movement of four French paratrooper troupes de marine and four helicopters was Operation Barracuda. The coup was completed on 21 September 1979 in just a few hours. The affair did not bring accolades to France: while many in CAR supported the coup, many in France including President Giscard-d'Estaing were criticised for their handling of the situation.^[2][4]