Benin hunts fugitive soldiers after failed coup leaves 'several' dead
After a weekend of violent clashes, President Patrice Talon reassures citizens that the country has "cleared the last pockets of resistance" as West African partners offered military assistance.
"Several" people died in Benin during a thwarted coup attempt on the weekend, the west African country's government announced on Monday after an emergency cabinet meeting.
Early on Sunday, "violent clashes" erupted between the coup plotters and the Republican Guard at the residence of President Patrice Talon, resulting in "casualties on both sides", according to the government.
It added that among the dead was the wife of the president's military chief-of-staff, General Bertin Bada, who was himself fatally wounded in a separate, earlier assault by the putschists.
After managing to release all hostages, including high-ranking officers, Benin was searching for fugitive soldiers behind a foiled coup attempt as other West African countries mobilised to offer military support.
The economic capital Cotonou was calm, and traffic had returned to normal by Monday afternoon, AFP journalists saw, after a group of soldiers a day earlier announced on national television they had ousted the president.
President Patrice Talon made his own TV appearance late on Sunday, assuring the country that the situation was "completely under control".
Two senior Beninese officers, Chief of Army Staff Abou Issa and army chief Colonel Faizou Gomina, had been taken hostage but were released near the National Guard in Cotonou overnight.
‘The country cleared the last pockets of resistance’
The coup attempt follows a spate of military takeovers in the region, including in Benin's northern neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as Mali, Guinea and, last month, Guinea-Bissau.
Benin called on the swift help of neighbouring Nigeria, which said late on Sunday it had carried out military strikes on Cotonou and deployed troops. West African regional bloc ECOWAS has also announced military support for Benin.
In his address late on Sunday, Talon said the country had "stood firm" and "cleared the last pockets of resistance". The main opposition Democrats party condemned the coup attempt, stating it "rejects any seizure of power by force and strongly condemns these acts that do not honour our country".