Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
Sixty-four mercenaries discovered in a plane in Zimbabwe were on their way to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea, one of the mercenaries said this week. Mercenary Nick du Toit, a South African, said the plan was to force President Teodoro Obiang into exile and let the opposition leader take over. Obiang, who came to power in the 1980s by shooting the previous dictator, is ill, and tensions have arisen in his family over succession. The president’s brother, a friend of du Toit’s, opposes a plan to hand power to Obiang’s son, an international playboy and aspiring rap star. The tiny nation is Africa’s third-largest oil producer, after Nigeria and Angola, but the oil wealth enriches only a handful of people close to the president.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meatThe Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human bloodUnder the radar Drugging the bugs
