 Executed by members of the Field Force and led by radical leftist politician Kukoi Samba Sanyang, the rebels took advantage of President Dawda Jawara being out the country to execute a coup d'etat.Having broken into the Field Force armoury, the rebels proceeded to release all the prisoners from Mile Two Prison, distributing weapons to those they felt were on their side.The rebels held Jawara's wife and children hostage, one of several acts that undermined public support for the coup.