Military personnel in Benin on Sunday announced that they had removed President Patrice Talon from office, though officials close to the president insisted he was safe and that loyal forces were restoring order.
The group, identifying itself as the Military Committee for Refoundation (CMR), appeared on state television to declare that Talon had been “removed from office as president of the republic”.
Their statement comes amid a wave of political instability in West Africa, with recent coup incidents in Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, and earlier takeovers in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.
Reports of gunfire near Camp Guezo, close to the president’s official residence in Cotonou, prompted the French Embassy to warn its citizens on X to remain indoors for safety.
However, Talon’s entourage told AFP that the president was in a secure location and dismissed the mutineers as a small faction with limited influence.
“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city and the country are completely secure,” an aide said.
Benin has experienced several coups and attempted coups in its political history, though the country has enjoyed relative stability in recent years under Talon.
Talon, who first won power in 2016, is due to leave office in 2026 at the end of his second and final term as allowed by the constitution.
With the main opposition party barred from participating in the succession race, the ruling bloc is set to compete against a “moderate” opposition in the next election.
