Benin government says armed forces foil coup attempt
Benin’s government announced on Sunday that its security forces had successfully stopped an attempted coup, shortly after a group of soldiers appeared on national television claiming to have taken control of the country.
The failed takeover is the latest challenge to democratic governance in West Africa, a region where the military has seized power in recent years in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as in Mali, Guinea, and most recently Guinea-Bissau.
Earlier on Sunday, at least eight soldiers—some wearing helmets—appeared on state TV to declare that a military council led by Colonel Tigri Pascal had assumed authority. They said they were dissolving national institutions, suspending the constitution, and shutting all air, land, and sea borders.
“The army solemnly commits to giving the Beninese people hope for a truly new era, where fraternity, justice, and hard work prevail,” one soldier said.
But just hours later, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou confirmed that the coup attempt had been stopped.
“The government therefore urges citizens to continue their daily activities as normal,” he said.
Foreign Minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari had earlier told Reuters that only “a small group” of soldiers was involved and that forces loyal to President Patrice Talon were working to restore full control. He said the coup plotters only managed to seize the state broadcaster.
A group of soldiers gives a statement on Benin's national television, claiming to have seized power, following reports of a coup attempt underway against the government of Benin's President Patrice Talon, in Cotonou, Benin, in this screengrab from a handout video obtained by Reuters on December..
GUNFIRE REPORTED IN COTONOU
Residents in several parts of Cotonou, Benin’s largest city and economic centre, reported hearing gunfire early Sunday as they made their way to church.
The French embassy warned on Facebook that shots had been heard near President Talon’s residence, advising French nationals to remain indoors.
The attempted coup comes as Benin prepares for a presidential election in April, which will mark the end of President Talon’s term in office after serving since 2016.
In their televised message, the soldiers cited worsening security in northern Benin and what they described as the government’s “disregard and neglect” of fallen soldiers.
While Talon is credited with driving economic growth, Benin has faced an uptick in jihadist attacks similar to those destabilising Mali and Burkina Faso. In April, the government reported that 54 soldiers were killed in an attack in the north by an Al Qaeda affiliate.
Last month, Benin adopted a revised constitution extending the presidential term from five to seven years—a move critics labelled a power grab by the ruling coalition, which has nominated Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as its presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, the opposition Democrats party, founded by former president Thomas Boni Yayi, saw its chosen candidate disqualified by a court for lacking sufficient backing from lawmakers.
