(BBC) -The French mercenary, Bob Denard , has died, his family says. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
"I confirm that he has died," his sister Georgette Garnier told Reuters.
Denard , 78, was notorious for leading coups in Africa, including four in the Comoros Islands - the most recent of which was in 1995.
He was convicted in French courts for his efforts to overthrow governments in Benin in 1977 and the Comoros, but both jail sentences were suspended.
His trial last year in connection with the 1995 Comoros coup attempt took place with him in absentia as a result of his illness.
Convicted of "belonging to a gang who conspired to commit a crime", Denard received a five-year suspended jail sentence.