Benin authorities report that brief coup resulted in injuries for both factions.

Benin’s government recently reported that a coup attempt was successfully thwarted, resulting in casualties on both sides. The insurrection occurred early Sunday, when soldiers identifying as the Military Committee for Refoundation seized the national television station in Cotonou. They announced the dissolution of the government and the removal of President Patrice Talon. The mutiny leader, Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri, who previously served in Talon’s protection detail, led the effort.

Loyalist forces quickly resisted the mutineers, gaining support from Nigerian and Ivorian military forces, including air support. The rebellion was quelled by the afternoon, with several arrests made, although Tigri remains at large. Authorities successfully released two senior military officers held hostage during the confrontation.

The government pledged to identify and prosecute everyone involved in the coup attempt, emphasizing an ongoing investigation to find the perpetrators and their sponsors. However, they have not disclosed the specific number of casualties from the incident.

This coup underscores a troubling trend of military interventions in West Africa, often linked to political instability and public dissatisfaction. In response, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has deployed a standby force, including troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Sierra Leone, for restoration of order and democratic governance in Benin. This marks ECOWAS’s first military intervention since The Gambia in 2017.

While Benin has faced multiple coups since gaining independence from France in 1960, it has enjoyed relative political stability in recent decades. As the country approaches presidential elections in April 2026, these recent events reveal significant challenges in maintaining democratic institutions and the rule of law in the region.