Armed Forces rebels On 1 September 1981, General André Kolingba deposed President David Dacko of the Central African Republic in a bloodless coup while Dacko was away from the country traveling to an official state visit in Libya.

[3] Central African Republic specialists Richard Bradshaw and Carlos Fandos-Rius state that, in the 1981 coup, Kolingba "seized power with French support".

[1] Likewise, historian Brian Titley notes that the 800 French soldiers in the country had orders not to interfere.

[4] In 1991, DGSE head Pierre Marion admitted that the French military advisor Jean-Claude Mantion [fr] had played a role in the coup;[2] Mantion had been stationed in the Central African Republic to serve as head of the Presidential Guard shortly before the coup took place, and retained this powerful position throughout the Kolingba regime.

[5][6] Kolingba's military regime promised to hold election and get rid of corruption but over the next four years corruption increased and the CMRN repeatedly pushed back planned election until 1987.