Equatorial Guinea Obiang Mangue, and other close relatives with powerful positions in the security forces. The tension may be rooted in a power shift arising from the dramatic increase in oil production which has occurred since 1997. In 2004 a plane load of suspected mercenaries was intercepted in Zimbabwe while allegedly on the way to overthrow Obiang. A November 2004 report named Mark Thatcher as a financial backer of the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt organized by Simon Mann. Various accounts also named the United Kingdom's MI6, the United States' CIA, and Spain as tacit supporters of the coup attempt. Nevertheless,
Bahá'í Faith in Equatorial Guinea citizens of Equatorial Guinea were among those to gather in Yaounde, Cameroon, in a conference called for by the Universal House of Justice in 2008. In 2001 Operation World estimated 0.38%, or 1,720 people were Bahá'ís—and growing at an annual rate of +4.2%. In 2004 there were four local assemblies in Equatorial Guinea. The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated nearly 3,552, or 0.5% of the national population, Bahá'ís in 2005. Bahá'í Faith in Equatorial Guinea The Bahá'í Faith in Equatorial Guinea begins after `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote letters encouraging taking the religion to Africa