The Seychelles Affair: A Mercenary’s Account of a Failed Coup

The remarkable story of the Seychelles Affair began in 1978 when representatives of the exiled Seychelles president approached legendary mercenary commander Mike Hoare - who had successfully quelled the uprisings in the Congo in the early 1960s - to help overthrow the Marxist regime then in power.

The coup was to take place in 1981, with Hoare’s band of men disguised as a rugby club on board a flight to the Seychelles - AK-47s hidden in the bottom of their luggage. What happened when they arrived has gone down as one of the most astonishing events in the history of mercenary warfare.

Hoare’s eyewitness account of his escapades reads like a thriller, detailing the backroom scheming, the tense action at the airport on Mahé, the forced landing of the Air India Boeing and the subsequent escape of Hoare’s band of mercenaries. The book also details their eventual capture and time spent in the South African prison, and their prosecution by those who had helped them prepare for the coup. This updated edition of this classic work is essential reading for anyone interested in mercenary warfare and military history.