Al-Fateh Revolution First Anniversary Celebration In Tripoli, Libya - September 1970 #gaddafi #libya

On 1 September 1969, a group of about 70 low-ranking young army officers, known as the Free Unionist Officers Movement and enlisted men mostly assigned to the Signal Corps gained control of the government and abolished the Libyan monarchy. According to Gaddafi's biographer, Mano Vignolo, Idris was in Bursa, Turkey, for hot baths with his wife and daughter when the coup began. Then, still ignorant of the coup, he immediately decided to go to Greece. On the contrary, other sources report that Idris was in Kamena Vourla, Greece from the get-go. Nevertheless, Konstantinos Plevris, a close associate of the Greek Junta leader Ioannis Ladas and an adviser to the Greek dictator Georgios Papadopoulos, reports that the Junta immediately learned the news from its ministry and it was suggested that they cut off Idris' telecommunications because Gaddafi's coup suited their interests. Cutting contacts, at the time, was a matter of seconds and thus, Idris was blocked from communicating in Greece with the outside world and especially with Libya. The coup was launched at Benghazi; and, within two hours, it was completed. Army units quickly rallied in support of the coup and, within a few days, military control was established in Tripoli and elsewhere throughout the country. Popular reception of the coup, especially by younger people in the urban areas, was enthusiastic. Fears of resistance in Cyrenaica and Fezzan proved unfounded. No deaths or violent incidents related to the coup were reported.
+
#revolution #gaddafi #libya