A group of soldiers in Benin claimed on Sunday that they had seized power, announcing the removal of President Patrice Talon on national television.
Calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), they said they had appointed Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri to lead the country.
"Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic," CMR said on state television.
Talon, a former businessman who has been in office since 2016 and re-elected in 2021, was due to step down next April at the end of his second term—a rare voluntary transfer of power in the region.
The French Embassy reported gunfire near the presidential residence at Camp Guezo and urged citizens to stay indoors “while the situation is fully clarified.”
‘Situation under control’
Talon’s current location was not immediately known.
Benin’s Foreign Minister, Shegun Adjadi Bakari, told Reuters that “There is a (coup) attempt but the situation is under control.”
He added that “large parts of the army and national guard [are] still loyalist and are controlling the situation.”
The announcement comes as the country prepares for a presidential election.
The ruling coalition had nominated Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, a key architect of the government’s economic policies, as its candidate to continue ongoing reforms.
Recent coups in Guinea-Bissau — the ninth in the region since 2020 — and other West African nations have raised concerns about regional stability, making Sunday’s announcement part of a worrying trend across countries where democratic norms are under pressure.
