Turn685 / Avenhar, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 2008 A coup d'état occurred in Guinea just hours after the death of longtime President Lansana Conté.
Sources: FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights) ; BBC News
Politics
Ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie church, Gondar, Ethiopia. Photo: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence · Source
On this day: December 23 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Turn685 / Avenhar, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 2008 
Frank Hall, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1970 The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially became a one-party state under President Mobutu Sese Seko.
Sources: Digithèque de matériaux juridiques et politiques (Université de Perpignan) ; Mémoire Online
Politics
Stevan Kragujević, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1956 The last British and French troops left Port Said, seven weeks after landing there, under pressure from the United Nations and the United States. Egypt keeps 23 December as Victory Day and as Port Said's national day.
Sources: Egyptian State Information Service ; Imperial War Museums
PoliticsManuel Lopes, celebrated Cape Verdean author regarded as a founder of modern Cape Verdean literature, was born.
Sources: eCiência - Repositório Científico de Cabo Verde ; Escola Portuguesa de Cabo Verde
BirthGunmen attacked more than 17 villages across the Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Mangu areas of Plateau State, Nigeria, over Christmas. Amnesty International Nigeria counted 194 dead and the state information commissioner gave 195, with about 300 injured and thousands driven from their homes. No group claimed the attacks and residents blamed herder militias. Amnesty said the authorities had done nothing beyond sympathising with the victims.
Sources: Voice of America ; Vanguard
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
Tragedy