1972 Moroccan coup attempt

Failed assassination of King of Morocco Hassan II 1972 Moroccan coup d'état attempt Damaged tail of the royal Boeing 727 after the 1972 Moroccan coup attempt.jpg Hassan's damaged Boeing 727 after the 1972 Airmen's coup attempt Over Tétouan, Morocco Coup attempt fails 16 August 1972 Morocco Government of Morocco Morocco Coup plotters Royal Flag of Morocco.svg King Hassan II Morocco Mohamed OufkirAssassinatedMorocco Mohamed Amekrane 8 killed and 40 wounded The 1972 Moroccan coup attempt was an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate King Hassan II of Morocco on 16 August 1972. The attempted coup d'état occurred in Morocco when a rebel faction within the Moroccan military attempted to shoot down an aircraft carrying the King of Morocco. The attempt was orchestrated by General Mohamed Oufkir, a close advisor to King Hassan, and Colonel Mohamed Amekrane, commander of the Kenitra Air Base.177 Miller Susan Gilson A History of Modern Morocco https://books.google.com/books?id=peGyku_eREkC&pg=PA177 2013-05-09 2013-04-15 Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-81070-8 On the 16th August, 6 Northrop F-5 jets, acting on General Oufkir's orders, intercepted King Hassan's Boeing 727 as it returned from France.The Air Force role in low-intensity conflict 1986 DIANE Publishing 56 1428928278 Reportedly, King Hassan grabbed the radio and told the rebel pilots, "Stop firing! The tyrant is dead!" Fooled, the rebel pilots broke off their attack, believing that their mission had been accomplished.Joseph R. Gregory The New York Times July 24, 1999 https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/24/world/hassan-ii-of-morocco-dies-at-70-a-monarch-oriented-to-the-west.html Hassan II of Morocco Dies at 70; A Monarch Oriented to the West Eight passengers on the royal jet were killed and forty injured, but the jet was able to land safely at Rabat–Salé Airport.Howe Marvine Marvine Howe https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Morocco/4Hs8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=oufkir%20family&pg=PA112&printsec=frontcover Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges 2005-06-30 Oxford University Press, USA 978-0-19-516963-8 111–112 en Background thumb|left|180px|Hassan II, pictured in 1981 1971 Moroccan coup attempt The coup occurred a year after another attempted military coup against King Hassan II's regime. Two hundred and fifty rebels based in the Ahermoumou cadet training school attacked the King's palace on his 42nd birthday, killing 91 people and injuring 133.1971: Death for Moroccan rebel leaders 13 July 1971 https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/13/newsid_2503000/2503093.stm BBC 27 November 2016 Oufkir had gained power after the coup in 1971, moving from the Minister of Interior to Minister of Defence. Many had believed he planned the first coup to facilitate this rise.Johnson Peter General Oufkir's last interview http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/26th-august-1972/9/morocco The Spectator 25 November 2016 Attack Boeing 727-2B6, Royal Air Maroc - RAM AN1260686.jpg The Boeing 727-2B6 CN-CCG of Royal Air Maroc, repaired and in service in 1989 Incident 1972 08 16 Attempted assassination Over Tétouan, Morocco Boeing 727-2B6 Royal Air Maroc CN-CCG Paris–Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France Rabat–Salé Airport, Salé, Morocco Exact number unknown 8 40 Exact number unknown On 16 August 1972, as King Hassan was returning to Morocco from a personal visit to France, four Royal Moroccan Air Force pilots, flying Northrop F-5 fighter jets, attacked the Boeing 727.Ranter Harro Unlawful Interference Boeing 727-2B6 CN-CCG, Wednesday 16 August 1972 https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/330404 2025-07-03 Aviation Safety Network It was said that Major Kouera el-Ouafi led this attack;1972-10-18 Morocco Puts 220 on Trial for Attempt on King Hassan's Life (Published 1972) en https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/18/archives/morocco-puts-220-on-trial-for-attempt-on-king-hassans-life.html 2023-08-03 the aircraft were from the squadron of Saleh Hachad.https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2025/09/259257/morocco-mourns-air-force-pioneer-and-tazmamart-survivor-salah-hachad/ Morocco Mourns Air Force Pioneer and Tazmamart Survivor Salah Hachad Firdaous Naim Sep 14, 2025 Sep 14, 2025 The planes shot holes through the fuselage, killing some passengers. During the attack, Major Kouera el-Ouafi plane's was damaged, and he was forced to bail out; he was captured shortly afterward. One plane broke off, strafing a nearby airfield and killing many on the ground.Loyal Troops Seize Airfield http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1972/08/17/page/1/article/morocco-jets-attack-king/ 27 November 2016 Reuters Chicago Tribune 17 August 1972 One of King Hassan's bodyguards recalls how the pilot, Commander Kabbaj, kept the aircraft safe and operational all while chaos ensued inside of the plane amongst the passengers on board as well as outside of the plane from the attacking fighter jets.Rédaction La Failed coup of August 16, 1972: the account of King Hassan II's bodyguard https://telquel.ma/2025/01/27/failed-coup-of-august-16-1972-the-account-of-king-hassan-iis-bodyguard_1914877?fbrefresh=3 2025-10-07 Telquel.ma fr Allegedly, the King himself grabbed the radio and told the rebel pilots, "Stop firing! The tyrant is dead!" Believing their mission to have been accomplished, the rebel pilots broke off their attack. Eight passengers on the royal jet were killed and forty injured, but the jet was able to land safely at Rabat–Salé Airport. Aftermath Kenitra Air Base, where most of the rebellious air force officers were based, was surrounded and 220 men were prosecuted, all of whom were officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers from the air base. Most of them had only carried out the directives.Riftime 2019-10-18 The attack on the plane of the King of Morocco 1972 (part 10) https://riftime.com/the-attack-on-the-plane-of-the-king-of-morocco-1972-part-10/ 2023-08-03 RifTime en-US 2023-09-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20230925135433/https://riftime.com/the-attack-on-the-plane-of-the-king-of-morocco-1972-part-10/ dead The United States foreign relation files showed that the U.S. had emergency evacuation already being planned for their nationals in Morocco. It also showed that at the time no other countries were for or against the attacks other than Libya which publicly supported the rebellious act without lending a helping hand in the attack.Historical Documents - Office of the Historian https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve05p2/d117 2025-10-07 history.state.gov General Oufkir was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds later on 16 August, ostensibly from suicide according to the official narrative said to be first because he felt shameful for endangering the King twice but later said to be because he learned the King knew of the betrayal.Hughes Stephen O. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Morocco_Under_King_Hassan/-1-T-B0b48sC?hl=en Morocco Under King Hassan Ithaca Press 2006 0863723128 173–174http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s340307.htm Interview with Malika Oufkir Foreign Correspondent 7 November 2001 2013-01-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20080725151257/http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s340307.htm 2008-07-25 dead His daughter, Malika Oufkir, claimed, in her autobiography Stolen Lives, that she found bullet wounds all over his body in the liver, lungs, stomach, back and neck. It is likely that Oufkir was executed by generals loyal to Hassan II.Abouzzohour Yasmina 2021 How Do Liberalized Autocracies Repress Dissent? Evidence from Morocco https://muse.jhu.edu/article/800103 The Middle East Journal 75 2 278–279 10.3751/75.2.14 1940-3461 238800898 subscription Many of his relatives were imprisoned, not being released until 1991, speculated to be because of international criticism for possible human rights abuses.Morocco Frees Coup Leader's Relatives After 18 Years in Jail https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-02-mn-1786-story.html LA Times 2 March 1991 20 November 2016 General Mohamed Amekrane fled to Gibraltar after the coup's failure; he failed to gain asylum and was extradited back to Morocco, where he was executed by firing squad.European Convention on Human Rights Year: 1973 1975 9024717841 366 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers https://books.google.com/books?id=n6sOl61mFXsC&pg=PA366 25 November 2016 Soldiers suspected to have been involved in the coup were put on trial, with many receiving lengthy prison sentences and being sent to secret detention camps. Few of them survived. Furthermore, the regime isolated the military from the political sphere by removing the ranks of defense minister, major general, and deputy major general. The security force was placed under the direct command of the King, and the "Ministry of Defense" was replaced by the "Administration of Defense" and run by a general secretary. When the Western Sahara War broke out, the Moroccan military was confined to the Western Sahara, where 5070% of Moroccan troops remain.Feliu Laura https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Political_Regimes_in_the_Arab_World/zKplXDI4AIMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=oufkir%20&pg=PA74&printsec=frontcover Political Regimes in the Arab World: Society and the Exercise of Power Parejo Ma Angustias 2013 Routledge 978-0-415-62566-1 Izquierdo Ferran 74–75 en Morocco: the reinvention of an authoritarian system https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203102626-5/morocco-reinvention-authoritarian-system-1-laura-feliu-ma-angustias-parejo Motives Oufkir's motives behind the coup were unclear. According to some, similarly to the plotters of the 1971 Moroccan coup attempt, Oufkir did it to oppose the perceived corruption of the monarchy. Alternatively, it could have been due to him fearing Hassan II intended to remove him, believing that Hassan had attempted to assassinate him in a helicopter accident in Agadir in May 1972. Hassan possibly was suspicious of Oufkir, believing he was implicated in the 1971 coup attempt.Willis Michael https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Politics_and_Power_in_the_Maghreb/7gMqBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA92&printsec=frontcover Politics and Power in the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Independence to the Arab Spring 2014 Oxford University Press 978-0-19-936820-4 92 en Seeing the harsh punishment meted out to his former colleagues and friends, like the televised, execution of ten of the leading plotters, caused relations between Hassan and Oufkir to deteriorate.Maddy-Weitzman Bruce https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Berber_Identity_Movement_and_the_Cha/RTiUCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover&bsq=oufkir The Berber Identity Movement and the Challenge to North African States 2011-05-01 University of Texas Press 978-0-292-72587-4 93–94 en Furthermore, Oufkir felt threatened by the appointment of Ahmed Dlimi as the new head of national security.Oufkir, Muhammad https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EI3O/COM-46056.xml?rskey=55QYJG&ebody=article%20details 10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_46056 Like his motives, Oufkir's intentions for Morocco after the coup were unclear, with some believing he wanted to install a regent with others believing he wanted to establish a republic with the support of Morocco's leftist parties.Bennani-Chraïbi Mounia Mounia Bennani-Chraïbi 2022-09-03 Abderrahmane Youssoufi: an embodiment of the mutations of the Moroccan left https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13629387.2020.1855426 The Journal of North African Studies 27 5 914 10.1080/13629387.2020.1855426 1362-9387 References External links Et Tu, Oufkir? - TIME Morocco: The Almost Perfect Regicide - TIME Category:1970s coups d'état Category:20th-century mass murders in Morocco Category:Attempted coups d'état in Morocco Category:Failed regicides Category:Republicanism in Morocco Category:Military history of Tétouan Category:1972 conflicts Category:August 1972 in Africa Category:1972 in Morocco Category:Arab rebellions Category:Failed assassination attempts in Africa Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1972 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Morocco Category:1972 mass murders Category:1972 in politics Category:Airstrikes in Africa Category:Royal Moroccan Air Force