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The 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt, also known as the Wonga coup, was a coup attempt against the government of Equatorial Guinea in order to replace President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo with exiled opposition politician Severo Moto, carried out by mercenaries and organised by mainly British financiers. Equatorial Guinea has vast oil and gas reserves. One US official called it "the new Kuwait".〔 Prosecutors alleged Equatorial Guinea's opposition leader, Severo Moto, was to be installed as the new president in return for preferential oil rights to corporations affiliated to those involved with the coup.〔 It received international media attention after the reported involvement of Sir Mark Thatcher in funding the coup, for which he was convicted and fined in South Africa. ==Summary== On 7 March 2004 Zimbabwean police in Harare airport impounded a plane which flew in from South Africa. The alleged plot leader, ex-Special Air Service (SAS) officer Simon Mann,〔 was arrested with two colleagues near the runway while waiting for arms to be loaded on a Boeing 727(N4610), carrying three crew and 64 former soldiers recruited in South Africa.〔 The majority of those alleged to have been the mercenaries planning to carry out the coup are based in South Africa and ex-members of the 32 Buffalo Battalion, a special force unit that fought for the South African apartheid regime. On 9 March 2004 Nick du Toit and 14 other South African and Armenian men were arrested in Equatorial Guinea on suspicion of being the mercenaries' vanguard. The marketing manager of Zimbabwe Defense Industries, Hope Mutize, said in court that Simon Mann had paid him a deposit on weapons worth $180,000 (£100,000) in February 2004 and indirectly linked Mr Mann to the alleged plot by saying he was accompanied by a South African, Nick du Toit, the leader of the 14 men arrested in Equatorial Guinea.〔 "They insisted they did not want any paperwork," Mr Mutize added. Legal sources said Mr Mann had cleared the deal with ZDI's managing director, Tshinga Dube. But news of the deal apparently leaked to the South African authorities, who tipped off Zimbabwean intelligence. Their arms requisition included 20 machine guns, 61 AK-47 assault rifles, 150 hand grenades, 10 rocket-propelled grenade launchers (and 100 RPG shells), and 75,000 rounds of ammunition. Mr Mann, 51, said he wanted the rifles, mortars and ammunition to guard diamond mines in volatile parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.〔 It was alleged that those arrested in Zimbabwe made a stopover in Harare city to buy weapons and expected to join a team in Equatorial Guinea to overthrow President Obiang.〔 Nick du Toit, the leader of the group of arrested in Equatorial Guinea, said at his trial in Equatorial Guinea that he was recruited by Simon Mann and that he was helping with recruitment, acquiring weapons and logistics. He says he was told they were trying to install an exiled opposition politician, Severo Moto, as the new president.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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