Sierra Leone will send troops to Benin as part of a West African regional security operation aimed at safeguarding constitutional order after a bout of political unrest.
The deployment was confirmed on Sunday, 7 December 2025, in a statement from the ECOWAS Commission following an emergency meeting of the bloc’s Mediation and Security Council at the level of Heads of State and Government.
Acting under Article 25(e) of the 1999 ECOWAS Protocol on Conflict Prevention and Peacekeeping, ECOWAS Chair and Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio authorised the rapid mobilisation of the ECOWAS Standby Force.
Under the arrangement, military contingents from Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana will be dispatched to support Beninese authorities and the Republican Army in stabilising the country. ECOWAS said the mission’s mandate includes protecting constitutional order, preventing further deterioration of security, and helping to reinforce democratic governance.
The Commission stressed that the coordinated response reflects ECOWAS’s long-standing commitment to regional peace and collective security, noting that swift action is essential to avert a deeper crisis in Benin.
