Operation Barracuda

Operation Barracuda was a military operation that was launched by France to support newly installed President David Dacko of the Central African Republic, after Operation Caban of 21 September 1979, a bloodless military operation in which Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire was overthrown.

1979 Central African coup d'état
Date 21 September 1979 Location Central African Empire Result Coup attempt succeeds. Bokassa I is exiled. The Central African Republic is restored.
Belligerents
House of Bokassa Armed Forces loyalists	Armed Forces rebels France
Commanders and leaders
Bokassa I	David Dacko Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

History

Barracuda was led by Colonel Bernard Degenne, based in N'Djamena (the capital of Chad), who gave the code name Barracuda to four Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopters and four Transall C-160 transport aircraft, which carried elements of the 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment to the Central African capital of Bangui. At noon, a company of the 3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment from Libreville (the capital of Gabon), was also transported to Bangui.[1]

Until November 1979, Barracuda aimed to protect French citizens in the country and the Dacko government, in addition to supporting the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) in order maintenance missions. Afterwards, it aimed to rebuild and instruct FACA to ensure the stability of the country. Barracuda ended in June 1981 and was replaced by the "French Elements of Operational Assistance," which remained present in the Central African Republic until 1998.[2]

Footnotes

1. (in French) Stephen Smith and Géraldine Faes, Bokassa Ier : un empereur français, Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 2000 ISBN 2-7021-3028-3.
2. Centre de doctrine d'emploi des forces (September 2015). "50 ans d'OPEX en Afrique (1964–2014)" (PDF) (in French). Cahier du Retex. p. 30–31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.