On this day: July 10 in African history

Agence Mauritanienne d'Information (c. 1960-61), Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Mauritanian President Moktar Ould Daddah was ousted in a bloodless military coup.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica ; Universite de Sherbrooke, Perspective Monde ; U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division

The South African cricket team was readmitted to international cricket following the end of its apartheid-era ban.

Sources: International Cricket Council ; ESPNcricinfo ; The Citizen / Roodepoort Record

Photo by Etienne Scholasse, European Communities (1998), CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement was signed by the DRC, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe in an attempt to end the Second Congo War.

Sources: United Nations (Security Council document S/1999/815) ; United States Institute of Peace

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed

Four mercenaries, one American and three British, were executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial for their role in the Angolan Civil War.

Sources: UK Parliament ; International Commission of Jurists

Scientists in London reported mitochondrial DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton that supported an African origin for modern humans and suggested that Neanderthals and modern humans had diverged more than 500,000 years earlier.

Sources: UK Parliament ; International Commission of Jurists

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed

An EgyptAir Tupolev Tu-154 crashed during a training exercise at Cairo International Airport after stalling during a landing approach, killing all six crew; the Aviation Safety Network dates the crash 10 July 1974, while the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives lists 9 July 1974.

Sources: Aviation Safety Network ; Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives