By AFP
Benin’s presidency says it remains in charge after a group of soldiers briefly appeared on state television on Sunday claiming to have removed President Patrice Talon from office.
Talon, 67, a former businessman known as the “cotton king of Cotonou”, is expected to leave office in April next year after a decade in power. His tenure has been marked by strong economic growth but also rising jihadist activity in the country’s north.
West Africa has seen a wave of military takeovers in recent years, including in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as in Mali, Guinea and, most recently, Guinea-Bissau.
Early on Sunday, soldiers identifying themselves as the “Military Committee for Refoundation” said they had met and agreed that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”. The broadcast was later cut.
A source close to the president told AFP that Talon was safe. “This is a small group who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city of Cotonou and the country are completely secure,” the source said. “It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”
A military source also said the situation was “under control” and the coup plotters had not reached either Talon’s residence or the presidential offices.
The French embassy reported gunfire near Camp Guezo, close to the president’s official residence in Cotonou, and urged French nationals to remain indoors.
Benin has a long political history marked by coups and attempted coups. Talon, who took office in 2016, is approaching the end of his second and final term, the limit set by the constitution. The main opposition party has been barred from contesting the succession, leaving the ruling party to compete largely against a “moderate” opposition.
While Talon has been credited with modernising Benin’s economy, critics accuse him of tightening his grip on power and shrinking the country’s democratic space.
