Immediately after a foiled coup attempt in Benin, the West African community of states Ecowas decided to send a military intervention force to stabilize the situation.
Dec 8, 2025, 4:21 amDec 8, 2025, 4:21 am
The soldiers, including those from neighboring Nigeria, are supposed to support the government and protect the country’s constitutional order, as Ecowas announced.
Soldiers in a military vehicle Benin.Image: keystone
The President of the regional power Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said that the Nigerian Air Force was deployed at the request of Benin to control the airspace and carry out rapid operations in coordination with the neighboring country. The armed forces acted within the framework of the Ecowas mandate and thereby defended the constitutional order in Benin. The small West African country has also requested ground troops to protect the government and counter armed groups. Nigerian ground troops are now in Benin.
Benin is located west of Nigeria.
Benin’s president gives the all-clear
Nigerian warplanes helped drive the coup plotters from the state television headquarters and from a military base, it said. Media reports spoke of explosions following suspected air strikes in the port city of Cotonou, the seat of government.
Benin’s President Patrice Talon said on Sunday evening, according to consistent media reports, that the situation was now completely under control. He thanked the armed forces and military leadership who remained loyal to the country and the constitution. The attempted coup would not go unpunished, he said on state television.
Coup plotters with announcement on state television
Shots had previously been fired near the presidential palace. A group of military officers occupied the headquarters of the state television station and declared Talon deposed. The country’s borders have been closed and Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri has been appointed president of a “Military Reconstruction Committee”, it was said. Interior Minister Alassane Seydou later said that the intervention of the armed forces made it possible to thwart the coup attempt. It is said to have only been a small group of mutinous soldiers.
It was initially unclear whether there were any victims in the attempted coup and the operation against the putschists. Nothing was initially known about possible arrests.
In addition to Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Ivory Coast are also expected to take part in the Ecowas intervention force for Benin. It was initially unclear how many soldiers and what equipment the force would contain.
Benin has so far been one of the more stable democracies
Benin, an agricultural state with around 15 million inhabitants and a lot of cotton production, is one of the poorest states in the world. The former French colony has so far been one of the more stable democracies on the continent. Benin achieved a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democratic government in 1991. The countries bordering the north, Burkina Faso and Niger, where there are major problems with Islamist-motivated terrorism, have recently been viewed as a source of possible instability. (sda/dpa)