5 Africans who were trained by the French army and went on to lead coups against leaders in their countries

Etienne Eyadema Gnassingbe

Eyadema joined the French army after middle school. He was initially trained in handling weapons and self-defence, just enough to be taken to Indochina and Algeria to fight for France.

In 1962, he returned to Togo and led a coup the following year which took out President Sylvanus Olympio, the country’s independence leader. Eyadema ruled from 1967 until his death in 2005.

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