Gunshots were heard early Sunday morning in Cotonouthe main city of Benign. Shortly afterward, a group of military personnel burst into the state television headquarters and announced on camera that the country’s president, Patrice Talon, had been deposed and that the government was now in charge of the country. Military Committee for Restoration. Benin woke up on Sunday with a coup d’état in progress. The third in Africa in less than two months.
The shooting continued. Each bullet fired increases the uncertainty. In some moment of confusionlieutenant colonel Pascal Tigri, leader of the rebelsshared a video on social networks in which he confirmed carrying out an “operation” to “liberate the Beninese people from the dictatorship of Patrice Talon“During his appearance, he also issued a warning: that France should not intervene in the internal affairs of his nation. And so it was revealed that the coup was real and that its leader was this army lieutenant colonel. National Guarddiscreet, little known to the public.
The clashes continued, becoming more and more attenuated. And it was around noon, when the uncertainty reached its maximum, that the Minister of Interior and public security, Alassane Seidouappeared on the same channel as the putschists, on the same set, to announce that the coup d’état had aborted: “The Beninese Armed Forces and its hierarchy, faithful to its oath, remains attached to republican principles. His actions allowed him to maintain control of the situation and thwart the attempt. Therefore, the Government invites the population to continue their activities normally.
The Russian shadow
Over the past five years, there have been eleven successful coups in Africa. Madagascar, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Chad were the affected nations, and it is worth noting that several of the resulting military governments chose to sever or distance their ties. relations with Francein exchange for closer relations with Russia. It’s a pattern that was repeated in Mali, Niger, Sudan, Chad and Burkina Faso, and it looked like something similar was going to happen in the country. Benign when Tigri directly called on France not to intervene.
And pro-Russia accounts celebrated the coup on social media in the usual way, that is, by hailing another French defeat. Because nothing that happens in West Africa It is foreign to the rest of the planet. He confrontation between Russia and France on the continent, everyone already knows it. Thus, for each pro-French government that falls into the hands of the putschists, a military junta is born eager to establish relations with Moscow.
The same stories that celebrated the coup in the morning assured at noon that the fighting continued. For this they used old men videos from Ukraine and the Sahelquickly denied by the users themselves in the comments. User @OgbeniDemola, with more than 155,000 followers on X, denounced that “France is fighting to protect its puppet regime in the Republic of Benin. Africa is still a colonized territory and our leaders are governors. And, as this story tells, many more.
Several soldiers in Cotonou on the day of the attempted coup.
There was an attempted coup d’état that the usual suspects interpreted as “a victory for African sovereignty” (even though each of the countries that passed France for Russia They find themselves today in a worse security situation than when the military took power) and the coup d’état aborted, but the the wait remained. Especially when we knew that Nigerian Air Force shelled suspected rebel positions on the border on Sunday afternoon Benin-Nigeria.
ECOWAS reacts with French aid
Images were broadcast of an A-29 Super Tucano flying over Beninese territory as it was machine-gunned, unsuccessfully, by the rebels. It was publicly acknowledged that Nigeria was actively collaborating with the legitimate Beninese government in its fight against the putschists. and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) In the final hours of the day, he issued a statement announcing the deployment in Benin of a joint response force, made up of troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
It should be noted that this joint force, known as “Standby force“was initially created in 2023, after the coup in Niger which placed the army in power. Intended as a response to the ECOWAS facing the epidemic of coups d’état which hit the region, never used, seems to remain an anecdote. Until now.
The ECOWAS response, applauded by some, was seriously criticized by those who celebrated the coup. According to this sector of opinion, the ECOWAS He functions as a “servant” of Paris, and denounces that “France and its allies” are violating Beninese sovereignty through the military response announced by ECOWAS. Logically, France and the other nations involved are acting within the framework of existing legality and in response to the aid requested by the democratically elected president of Benin, but even the most logical explanations are not enough to appease anti-French minds.
It was even said that the Yoruba (an ethnic group very present in Benin and Nigeria and with more than 50 million people worldwide), ethnic group to which the president of Nigeria and the mother of the Beninese president, took advantage of the maneuver to increase their power in both nations. However, the latter has not been confirmed by any official source.
Because the situation in Benin is critical. Sunday’s attempt is not a cause, but a consequence of this crisis for which we see no end. Politically, he himself Patrice Talonwho has presided over the country since 2016, has been repeatedly accused of undermining the democratic system by various civil organizations. And the 2019 legislative elections were proof of its authoritarian drift, when no opposition party was able to participate in the vote. electoral process by, supposedly, legal criteria introduced months before by the government.
The protests that followed resulted in the deaths of several demonstrators. Several opponents have been imprisoned in recent years or forced to leave the country. That is to say that Patrice Talonalthough democratically elected in 2016 and 2021, leaned towards authoritarian actions which explained to a certain extent the speech of the putschists, when they claimed to have revolted to put an end to “the dictatorship of Patrice Talon“.
To the political crisis, we must add a security crisis. Since 2021, terrorist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State penetrated the north of Benignarrived from Niger and Burkina Fasowith the aim of extending its influence and seeking an outlet to the sea through the Gulf of Guinea. These groups, among which the JNIM stands out, have strengthened themselves in the forest areas of the north, to the point that today Benin has areas that are completely inaccessible to state authorities. In April of this year, without going any further, more than 50 Beninese soldiers were killed in an ambush organized by JNIM, in what is considered the largest terrorist attack in the country’s history.
The help of France and the United Stateslimited to troop training and aerial surveillance (French planes flew over Beninese airspace on Sunday and Monday), is totally insufficient to face the terrorist threat. And we must not forget that it only takes an eight-hour drive to reach the country’s capital from the areas occupied by the JNIM.
Benin is a country associated with France, besieged by the Islamic terrorism and subjected to a serious political crisis. Just like Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso before the establishment of the military junta which opened the door to Moscow in the region. The difference in this case, it seems, is that the coup did not succeed, thanks in part to the reaction of ECOWAS, and this leaves a clear message: in a context of hybrid war between France and Moscow in Africathis last battle was won by Paris. And what is more important: that ECOWAS confirms through its actions its support for democratic governments in its region.
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