Benin Leader Denounces Failed Coup Bid, Claims Mutineers on the Run

 Benin President Talon Condemns Foiled Coup Attempt as Mutinous Soldiers Flee Cotonou
COTONOU, BENIN 

 Benin President Patrice Talon on Sunday strongly condemned a failed coup attempt

 thwarted by the country’s armed forces, breaking his silence after sporadic gunfire

 rattled parts of Cotonou, the administrative capital.

Earlier in the day, a group of soldiers appeared on Benin’s state television, claiming to

 dissolve the government and announcing themselves as the Military Committee for

 Refoundation. The attempted takeover, if successful, would have added to the rising

 number of military coups in West Africa in recent years.

Benin’s Interior Minister Alassane Seidou later confirmed in a Facebook video that the

 coup plot had been “foiled”, though President Talon had not yet spoken publicly at that

 time.

In a televised national address Sunday evening, Talon expressed sympathy for those

 affected by the mutiny.

“I would like to offer my condolences to the victims of this senseless adventure and to

 those still being held by the fleeing mutineers,” Talon said. “We will do everything

 possible to rescue them safe and sound.”

The president did not disclose the number of casualties or hostages.

According to Seidou, the attempted coup unfolded early Sunday, December 7, 2025, when

 “a small group of soldiers launched a mutiny aimed at destabilizing the state and its

 institutions.” He praised the Beninese Armed Forces for remaining “loyal to the republic”

 and swiftly containing the threat.

In response to the instability, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

 announced the deployment of a multinational regional force, including personnel from

 Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Ghana. The mission aims to support Benin’s

 military in preserving constitutional order and protecting the nation’s territorial

 integrity.

Local media outlets reported that 13 soldiers involved in the coup attempt were arrested

 on Sunday. It remains unclear whether Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri, identified as the alleged coup

 leader, has been captured. While gunfire and military patrols were observed in parts of

 Cotonou earlier in the day, the city has remained relatively calm following the

 government’s announcement.

The Military Committee for Refoundation announced earlier that Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri had

 been appointed as the leader of the military committee during the failed coup attempt in

 Benin.

Following Benin’s independence from France in 1960, the West African nation

 experienced numerous military coups, particularly in the decades after independence.

 Since 1991, however, Benin has enjoyed relative political stability, following the two-

decade rule of former Marxist-Leninist president Mathieu Kérékou.

Broadcast signals to state television and public radio, which had been cut during the

 mutiny, have now been fully restored.

The regional bloc ECOWAS previously condemned the attempted coup as “a subversion of

 the will of the people of Benin.”

President Patrice Talon, in office since 2016, is scheduled to step down next April after the

 2026 presidential election. His party’s chosen successor, former Finance Minister

 Romuald Wadagni, is currently viewed as the frontrunner. Opposition hopeful Renaud

 Agbodjo was disqualified by the national electoral commission for failing to secure the

 required number of sponsors.

In January, two close associates of Talon received 20-year prison sentences over an

 alleged 2024 coup plot, intensifying political tensions within the country.

Last month, Benin’s National Assembly approved an extension of the presidential term

 from five to seven years, while maintainig the constitutional two-term limit.

The latest coup attempt adds to a wave of military takeovers in West Africa, including last

 month’s coup in Guinea-Bissau, where former President Umaro Embaló was removed

 following a disputed election in which both he and his opponent claimed victory.