Portuguese invasion of Guinea, 1970

Green Sea Operation Portuguese invasion of Guinea, 1970
Part of Guinea-Bissau War of Independence
Date 22 November 1970 Location Conakry, Guinea Result Limited Portuguese success, all 26 Portuguese POWs rescued, PAIGC and Guinean ships and air force assets destroyed; failure to capture or kill Amílcar Cabral and Ahmed Sékou Touré.
Belligerents
Portuguese Military Guinean dissident forces	Guinean People's Militia PAIGC
Commanders and leaders
Alpoim Calvão António de Spínola Rebordão de Brito	Sekou Toure Amílcar Cabral
Strength
220 Portuguese 200 Guinean opponents	unknown
Casualties and losses
1 Portuguese and 7 Guineans killed	52 to 500 (according to different sources)

The Operation Green Sea (Portuguese: Operação Mar Verde) was an amphibious attack on Conakry, the capital of Guinea, by between 350 and 420 Portuguese soldiers and Portuguese-led Guinean fighters in November 1970. The goals of the operation included the overthrow of Ahmed Sékou Touré's government, capture of the leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), Amílcar Cabral, destruction of the naval and air assets of the PAIGC and its Guinean supporters, and the rescue of Portuguese POWs held in Conakry.

The attackers withdrew after rescuing the POWs and destroying some PAIGC ships and Guinean air force infrastructure, but failed to capture Amílcar Cabral, the leader of PAIGC guerrillas, or to topple the regime of Guinean leader Ahmed Sékou Touré.

In 1952, Ahmed Sékou Touré became the leader of the Guinean Democratic Party (PDG). In 1957, Guinea had an election in which the PDG won 56 of 60 seats. The PDG conducted a plebiscite in September 1958 by which Guineans overwhelmingly opted for immediate independence rather than for continued association with France. The French withdrew and, on 2 October 1958, Guinea proclaimed itself a sovereign and independent republic with Touré as its President.

In 1960, Touré welcomed to Guinea and supported Amílcar Cabral and his organization, the PAIGC, which was seeking the independence of Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau) and Cape Verde from Portugal. In 1963, the PAIGC began the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence.

On the night of 21–22 November 1970 about 200 armed Guineans—attired in uniforms similar to those of the Guinean Army and commanded by Portuguese officers—and 220 African-Portuguese and Portuguese soldiers invaded some points around Conakry. The soldiers landed from four unmarked ships, including an LST and a cargo vessel, and destroyed 4 or 5 supply vessels of the PAIGC. Others landed near President Touré's summer house, which they burnt. Touré was in the Presidential Palace at the time. Other soldiers captured two army posts, took control of the city's main power plant, captured the headquarters of the PAIGC (but not Amílcar Cabral), and freed 26 Portuguese POWs who were being held by the PAIGC at Camp Boiro. Guinean militia forces fought the raiders with little success. Since both Cabral and Touré couldn't be found, the raiders retreated after suffering minor casualties.

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