The 1996 Burundian coup d'état was a military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

that took place in Burundi on 25 July 1996. In the midst of the

Burundi Civil War The Burundian Civil War was a civil war in Burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of longstanding Ethnic conflict, ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The conflict began following the first Mult ...

, former president

Pierre Buyoya Pierre Buyoya (24 November 1949 – 17 December 2020) was a Burundian army officer and politician who served two terms as President of Burundi in 1987 to 1993 and 1996 to 2003. He was the second-longest serving president in Burundian history. An ...

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic ...

) deposed

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the p ...

President

Sylvestre Ntibantunganya Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (born 8 May 1956) is a Burundian politician. He was President of the National Assembly of Burundi from 23 December 1993 to 30 September 1994, and President of Burundi from 6 April 1994 to 25 July 1996 (interim to October ...

. According to Amnesty International, in the weeks following the coup, more than 6,000 people were killed in the country. This was Buyoya's second successful coup, having overthrown

Jean-Baptiste Bagaza Jean-Baptiste Bagaza (29 August 19464 May 2016) was a Burundian army officer and politician who ruled Burundi as president and ''de facto'' military dictator from November 1976 to September 1987. Born into the Tutsi ethnic group in 1946, Bagaza ...

in 1987.

Background

Tutsi

first came to power in Burundi following a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

in September 1987, when he deposed

. Buyoya was president until the country's first democratic presidential election on 27 June 1993, which was won by Hutu

Melchior Ndadaye Melchior Ndadaye (28 March 1953 – 21 October 1993) was a Burundian intellectual and politician. He was the first democratically elected and first Hutu president of Burundi after winning the landmark 1993 election. Though he moved to attempt to ...

. On 21 October, Ndadaye was assassinated, sparking the

between Hutu and Tutsi groups. Moderate Hutu

Cyprien Ntaryamira Cyprien Ntaryamira (6 March 1955 – 6 April 1994) was a Burundian politician who served as President of Burundi from 5 February 1994 until his death two months later. A Hutu born in Burundi, Ntaryamira studied there before fleeing to Rwanda ...

became president in February 1994, but both he and Rwandan president

Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (, ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who served as the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until 1994. He was nicknamed ''Kinani'', a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible". An ethn ...

were assassinated in April that year, an event that sparked the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed H ...

. Ntaryamira was succeeded by another Hutu leader,

July 1996 events

On 21 July 1996, Hutu rebels attacked a refugee camp in the country and killed more than 300 people. On 23 July, President Ntibantunganya went into hiding at the home of U.S. ambassador Morris N. Hughes, Jr. The army took power on 25 July, a move announced over the radio by Defense Minister Firmin Sinzoyiheba. Pierre Buyoya was named

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

president. The military takeover was condemned by international leaders including

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (; , ar, بطرس بطرس غالي ', ; 14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from 1992 to 1996. An academic ...

and the head of the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

Salim Ahmed Salim Salim Ahmed Salim ( ar, سليم احمد سليم, sw, Salim Ahmad Salim, born 23 January 1942) is a Tanzanian politician and diplomat who has worked in the international diplomatic arena since the early 1960s. Early life Salim was born in wh ...

. It was the fourth such takeover of the Burundian government since the country's independence in 1962, and the second to result in Buyoya taking power.

Aftermath

According to Amnesty International, in the weeks immediately following the coup, more than 6,000 people were killed in the country. Buyoya was succeeded as president in 2003 by

Domitien Ndayizeye Domitien Ndayizeye (born 2 May 1953) is a Burundian politician who was President of Burundi from 2003 to 2005. He succeeded Pierre Buyoya, as president on 30 April 2003, after serving as Buyoya's vice president for 18 months. Ndayizeye remained i ...

. The civil war continued until 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 Burundian coup d'etat Coup Burundi Military coups in Burundi July 1996 events in Africa 1990s coups d'état and coup attempts