- President Talon says the situation is under control.
- A group of soldiers earlier claimed to have seized power.
- Coup attempts precede the presidential election.
COTONOU: Benin President Patrice Talon said on Sunday that the West African nation’s government and armed forces had foiled a coup attempt by a group of soldiers and vowed to punish them.
Talon’s announcement Sunday evening came about 12 hours after gunfire first rang out in several neighborhoods of Cotonou, the country’s largest city and commercial hub, and soldiers went on state television to say they had removed Talon from power.
Forces loyal to Talon “stood firm, retook our positions and cleared the last pockets of resistance held by the mutineers,” Talon said in his own televised statement.
“This commitment and mobilization enabled us to defeat these adventurers and prevent the worst for our country… This betrayal will not go unpunished.”
Talon said his thoughts were with the victims of the coup attempt as well as a number of people held by the fleeing mutineers, without giving details. Reuters was unable to verify whether there were any casualties or hostages.
The unrest was the latest threat to democratic rule in the region, where in recent years the military has seized power in Benin’s neighbors Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as in Mali, Guinea and, just last month, Guinea-Bissau.
But it was an unexpected development in Benin, where the last successful coup took place in 1972.
A government spokesman, Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji, said 14 people had been arrested in connection with the coup attempt on Sunday afternoon, without giving details.
At the request of Talon’s government, Nigeria sent air force fighter jets to take over Benin’s airspace to help remove the coup plotters from the state television network and a military camp, a statement from Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s office said.
Nigeria has also sent ground troops, the statement said.
West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS and the African Union condemned the coup attempt.
In a subsequent statement, ECOWAS said it had ordered the immediate deployment of parts of its standby force to Benin, including troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
Gunshots and explosions hit the biggest city
At least eight soldiers, several in possession of weapons, had appeared on state television on Sunday morning to announce that a military committee led by Colonel Tigri Pascal was dissolving national institutions, suspending the constitution and closing air, land and maritime borders.
“The army solemnly undertakes to give the Beninese people the hope of a truly new era where brotherhood, justice and work prevail,” the soldiers’ statement said.
The soldiers cited the worsening security situation in northern Benin “along with the disregard and neglect of our fallen brothers in arms.”
Talon has been credited with reviving the economy since taking office in 2016, but the country has also seen an increase in attacks by jihadist militants who have wreaked havoc in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Foreign Minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari told Reuters that the soldiers had only briefly managed to take control of the state television network.
Shots could be heard early Sunday in several neighborhoods in Cotonou as residents tried to get to the church.
The French embassy said gunfire had been reported near Talon’s residence in Cotonou and urged citizens to stay at home.
Only in the afternoon were the police deployed at major intersections in the city centre.
Narcisse, a furniture seller in Cotonou who gave only his first name for security reasons, said he first heard gunshots at 8 in the morning (0700 GMT) and soon saw police officers driving by.
“I got scared and brought my sofas inside and closed. It’s a bit quieter now, so I opened again,” he said.
Several gunshots and explosions were heard in Cotonou early Sunday evening, witnesses said, but the sounds had stopped before Talon’s statement was issued.
Elections on the horizon
Benin is gearing up for a presidential election in April that is expected to mark the end of Talon’s tenure.
Last month, Benin adopted a new constitution that created a senate and extended the president’s term from five to seven years, in what critics said was a power grab by the ruling coalition, which has nominated Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni to be its candidate.
The opposition Democrats, founded by Talon’s predecessor Thomas Boni Yayi, saw its proposed candidate rejected due to what a court ruled was insufficient support from lawmakers.
The worsening security situation in the north was likely a factor behind the soldiers’ actions, said Nina Wilen, director of the Africa program at the Egmont Institute for International Relations in Belgium.
Benin has been hardest hit among West African coastal states by jihadist groups that have made major advances in the central Sahel, she said, a fact underscored by major attacks in January and April that killed dozens of soldiers.
Nevertheless, she said Sunday’s coup attempt was a surprise given Benin’s relative stability after a wave of coups and attempted coups in the first decades after independence from France in 1960.
“No coup for 50 years? That’s a great achievement for a country in West Africa,” she said.
