1981 Seychelles coup attempt

1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt
	Part of the Cold War
	; The perpetrators of the coup being interviewed by local media: L to R: Dolinchek, England, Carey, Brooks, Sims and Puren.
Date	25 November 1981
Location	Seychelles International Airport, Mahé, Seychelles04°40′27.64″S 55°31′18.67″E
Result	Coup failure
Belligerents
Seychelles	South Africa; Mercenary forces
Commanders and leaders
France-Albert René; Ogilvy Berlouis	Mike Hoare; Tullio Moneta
Strength
Unknown troop strength; 2 armoured vehicles	53 mercenaries; 1 chartered aircraft
Casualties and losses
1 soldier killed; 1 police officer wounded; 1 armoured vehicle damaged	1 mercenary killed; 2 mercenaries wounded; 5 mercenaries arrested; 1 NIS agent arrested; 1 accomplice arrested; 1 aircraft disabled
	Approximately 70 people in the airport terminal were taken hostage by the mercenaries. They also hijacked an aircraft with 65 passengers and 13 crew aboard. The aircraft was later relinquished and the hostages were released.

The 1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, sometimes referred to as the Seychelles affair or Operation Angela, was a failed South African–orchestrated coup to overthrow the government of Prime Minister France-Albert René in Seychelles and restore the previous president, James Mancham, to power.

The South African government encouraged a mercenary group to force the change of government, but the poorly organised and underfunded operation was obstructed when a Seychelles customs official discovered weapons in the baggage of one of the arriving mercenaries and raised the alarm. After an extended firefight, the mercenaries hijacked an aircraft and fled to Durban in South Africa. They were charged in the South African courts but received lenient sentences. United Nations and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission enquiries condemned the South African government for their participation in an attempt to overthrow a neighbouring government.

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