A group of soldiers from Benin, in West Africa, announced on national television that they had taken power this Sunday (7).
Shortly after, the Minister of the Interior, Alassane Seidou, declared in a statement also on television that “a small group of soldiers launched a mutiny with the aim of destabilizing the country and its institutions”, and that the situation was under control.
At least eight soldiers appeared on state television to announce that a military committee led by Colonel Tigri Pascal had seized power and was dissolving national institutions, suspending the Constitution and closing air, land and sea borders.
“The Army solemnly undertakes to give the Beninese people the hope of a truly new era, where fraternity, justice and work will reign,” the group said in a statement read by one of the soldiers.
Gunshots were heard in several neighborhoods of Cotonou, the country’s largest city and economic center. The embassy of France, a former colonial power in the African country, said on Facebook that gunshots had been reported near the residence of President Patrice Talon in Cotonou and asked citizens to stay at home.
This attempted coup comes as Benin prepares for a presidential election in April, which would mark the end of the mandate of Talon, in power since 2016.
The ruling coalition had nominated Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as its candidate, positioning a man seen as the architect of the country’s economic policies to continue the administration’s current reform agenda.
Talon’s decision to step down after two terms is a rare move in the region, where democratic norms have been under pressure for years, with some exceptions in countries that maintain electoral and institutional regularity – the action in Benin follows a coup in Guinea-Bissau last month that marked the ninth of its kind in West and Central Africa since 2020.
Foreign Minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari told Reuters before the interior minister’s statement that “a small group” of soldiers had tried to overthrow the government, but forces loyal to Talon were working to restore order.
“There is an attempt, but the situation is under control. A large part of the army is still loyal and we are taking control of the situation,” Bakari said.
He added that the soldiers who attempted the coup only took control of state television, whose signal was cut later Sunday morning.
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