BENIN FOILS ATTEMPTED COUP, GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS PRESIDENT TALON IS SAFE
An early morning mutiny by a small group of soldiers aimed at ousting President Patrice Talon has been thwarted by loyalist forces, with the president confirmed to be secure at the French embassy.
The government of Benin announced on Sunday, December 7, that it had successfully thwarted an attempted military coup after a group of mutinous soldiers led by Lt-Col Pascal Tigri declared they had seized power and suspended the constitution.
In a televised address, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou confirmed that loyalist forces had regained control. “Early on Sunday morning… a small group of soldiers launched a mutiny aimed at destabilising the state and its institutions,” he stated. “Their response allowed them to retain control of the situation and foil the attempt.”
Gunfire was reported near the presidential residence in Cotonou, the seat of government, and some journalists at the state broadcaster were briefly held hostage. The French embassy advised its citizens to stay indoors, while the U.S. embassy urged avoiding Cotonou, especially near the presidential compound.
A presidential adviser later confirmed to the BBC that President Patrice Talon, 67, was safe and at the French embassy. Talon, a pro-Western leader and former cotton magnate, is due to step down next year after completing his second term.
The mutineers had criticized Talon’s governance, but Benin, long regarded as one of West Africa’s most stable democracies, has now joined a troubling list of regional nations facing military unrest. The coup attempt comes just over a week after the overthrow of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló in Guinea-Bissau.
Both the African Union and the regional bloc ECOWAS condemned the attempted takeover, reiterating their “zero tolerance” for unconstitutional changes of government. The incident highlights the ongoing instability in a region that has seen multiple coups in recent years in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Niger.
Source:NKONKONSA.com
