Benin president says coup attempt has been thwarted

A coup attempt in Benin was brought under control after a group of soldiers staged a mutiny and attempted to seize power, according to officials. President Patrice Talon said the situation was brought under control after security forces retook key positions in the West African nation.

Gunfire was first reported early Sunday in several neighborhoods of Cotonou, the country’s largest city, where soldiers later appeared on state television to claim they had removed Talon from office, according to France 24.

Interior Minister Alassane Seidou said an attack was carried out on the president’s official residence in the early morning hours, and a group of soldiers attempted to seize power before being stopped by security forces.

Talon addressed the nation in a video message on Sunday evening, saying a small group of soldiers had launched a mutiny on a “fallacious pretext” with the aim of attacking state institutions and destabilizing the country.

The president said their actions threatened Benin’s democratic order and could have plunged the nation “into an adventure with disastrous consequences.” Talon said military leadership acted with him to retake positions “until the last pockets of resistance from the mutineers were cleared.”

Talon praised the armed forces for remaining “republican and loyal to the homeland” and said the mutineers’ actions “will not go unpunished.” He acknowledged that there were victims and said some people were still being held by fleeing mutineers, adding that authorities would do everything possible to secure their safe recovery.

France 24 reported that soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri briefly took over the national television station earlier in the day and declared that Talon had been “removed from office,” announcing the suspension of the constitution, dissolution of state institutions, and a halt to political party activity.

As authorities worked to regain control, Nigeria’s air force said it conducted operations in Benin under regional security arrangements.

The attempted coup comes one week after a separate military takeover in Guinea-Bissau, where officers deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and suspended state institutions.

Benin is a West African nation located between Togo and Nigeria, with its southern coastline on the Gulf of Guinea.