Benin military group removes President Talon from office

A group of military personnel in Benin on Sunday announced that they had ousted President Patrice Talon, who is due to step down next April after 10 years in power.

Soldiers calling themselves the "Military Committee for Refoundation" (CMR), said on state television that they had met and decided that "Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic".

Talon's whereabouts were unknown and the French Embassy said on X that "gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo" near the president's official residence. It urged French citizens to remain indoors for security.
Benin's government said that loyalist soldiers and national guards have regained control after a group of soldiers announced on state television that they had seized power in an apparent coup attempt.

Foreign minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari said on Sunday that the coup plotters had only taken control of state TV and that the signal had been cut for several minutes.

"There is an attempt but the situation is under control. Now it's a small group of military. A large part of the army is still loyalist and we are taking over the situation," Bakari told the Reuters news agency.

A group of soldiers led by led by Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri had appeared on screen to claim the overthrow of President Patrice Talon, who has been in power since 2016, as well as all state institutions. They also claimed that all the borders in the country had been closed and that all political parties had been suspended.

The troops referred to themselves as part of the "Military Committee for Refoundation" (CMR).

Following the takeover attempt, the president's office stated that Talon is safe and that the army was gradually regaining control, according to the AFP news agency.

"This is a small group of people who only control the television," the presidency told AFP.

"The regular army is regaining control. The city and the country are completely secure," it said.

The French Embassy said at the time of the state television takeover, that "gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo" near the president's official residence.

Talon is due to step down next April after 10 years in power.

The apparent coup attempt "does not come as a surprise to anyone", Adama Gaye, a former director of communication at regional bloc ECOWAS, told Al Jazeera.

He stated that there has been a lot of political tension in the country, with many opposition members imprisoned.

Talon had managed to "eliminate key people in the opposition party, including former President Boni Yayi", Gaye said, adding that he had also already designated his current minister of finance to take over the reins after the next election.

A number of coups have taken place across the continent in recent years.

Just last month, army officials in Guinea-Bissau seized power in a military coup with General Horta Inta-A named as the head of a one-year transitional government. The country has has experienced nine coup attempts since its independence from Portugal in 1974.

In 2023, military leader Brice Oligui Nguema toppled Gabon's then-President Ali Bongo Ondimba, a leader whose family had held power in the country for almost 56 years.

That same year, a coup took out Niger's Mohamed Bazoum, a democratically elected leader who ruled for just two years before he was forced out of office. A military government was then installed, led by President Abdourahamane Tchiani.

In 2022, Burkina Faso military leader President Paul-Henri Damiba was deposed in the country's second coup in a year, as army Captain Ibrahim Traore took charge.

In Mali, General Assimi Goita led soldiers to seize power in a 2020 coup.