Denard, infamous mercenary and self-styled 'pirate', dies at 78
A real, modern-day pirate — interesting story ...
From UK's The Independent:
Bob Denard, a colorful and well-known French mercenary who staged coups, battled communism, and fought for French interests and his own across postcolonial Africa and elsewhere for over three decades, has died, his sister said yesterday. He was 78 ... Denard was perhaps best known for controlling the impoverished Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros Islands behind a figurehead leader for most of the 1980s, following a coup he led. Denard was twice convicted in France for his role in an attempted coup in Marxist-controlled Benin in 1977, and a later short-lived coup in Comoros in 1995. He received suspended prison terms in each case ...
"He believed in what he was doing," said Pierre Lunel, author of the 1992 biography "Bob Denard, Le Roi de Fortune" (Bob Denard, King of Fortune). "He did a job, and of course there were casualties," said Lunel. "It was a time that doesn't resemble today at all. The planet was split between two worlds: The communist world and free world in the West."
...Denard claimed to have converted to Islam — the islands' predominant religion — and lived lavishly. He built a luxurious farm of 1,800 acres and married a Comoran hotel receptionist as his sixth and last wife. He had eight children in all. After several weeks of turmoil, the French military sent in 3,000 men to seize control from Denard and his men. He fled to South Africa, where he lived for three years.Denard was convicted in 1993 for the failed Benin coup, and settled with his family in France. He was believed to have put his adventures behind him. But two years later, he and about 30 French mercenaries stormed ashore in Comoros to overthrow President Said Djohar after an overnight raid. A week later, French troops, acting in the name of a bilateral defence accord between France and Comoros, liberated Djohar and took the mercenaries captive. A Paris court convicted him for that coup last year.
From UK's The Independent:
Bob Denard, a colorful and well-known French mercenary who staged coups, battled communism, and fought for French interests and his own across postcolonial Africa and elsewhere for over three decades, has died, his sister said yesterday. He was 78 ... Denard was perhaps best known for controlling the impoverished Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros Islands behind a figurehead leader for most of the 1980s, following a coup he led. Denard was twice convicted in France for his role in an attempted coup in Marxist-controlled Benin in 1977, and a later short-lived coup in Comoros in 1995. He received suspended prison terms in each case ...
"He believed in what he was doing," said Pierre Lunel, author of the 1992 biography "Bob Denard, Le Roi de Fortune" (Bob Denard, King of Fortune). "He did a job, and of course there were casualties," said Lunel. "It was a time that doesn't resemble today at all. The planet was split between two worlds: The communist world and free world in the West."
...Denard claimed to have converted to Islam — the islands' predominant religion — and lived lavishly. He built a luxurious farm of 1,800 acres and married a Comoran hotel receptionist as his sixth and last wife. He had eight children in all. After several weeks of turmoil, the French military sent in 3,000 men to seize control from Denard and his men. He fled to South Africa, where he lived for three years.Denard was convicted in 1993 for the failed Benin coup, and settled with his family in France. He was believed to have put his adventures behind him. But two years later, he and about 30 French mercenaries stormed ashore in Comoros to overthrow President Said Djohar after an overnight raid. A week later, French troops, acting in the name of a bilateral defence accord between France and Comoros, liberated Djohar and took the mercenaries captive. A Paris court convicted him for that coup last year.
posted by Strother | 9:24 AM
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