The monarchy refused to recognize gains by Hutu candidates in the first legislative elections held by Burundi as an independent country on 10 May 1965. In response, a group of Hutu carried out a failed coup attempt against the monarchy on 18 October 1965, which in turn prompted the killing of scores of Hutu politicians and intellectuals. On 8 July 1966, King Mwambutsa IV was deposed by his son, Prince Ntare V, who himself was deposed by his prime minister Capt. Michel Micombero on 28 November 1966. Micombero abolished the monarchy and declared a republic. A de facto military regime emerged and civil unrest continued throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. Micombero headed a clique of ruling Hima, the Tutsi subgroup located in southern Burundi. Similar to 1965, rumors of an impending Hutu coup in 1969 prompted the arrest and execution of scores of prominent political and military figures.