A GROUP of military personnel in Benin on Sunday announced that they had ousted President Patrice Talon, who is due to step down next April after 10 years in power.
Soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), said on state television that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”.
Talon’s whereabouts were unknown and the French Embassy said on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence. It urged French citizens to remain indoors for security.
Meanwhile, the presidency had said President Talon is safe and the army is regaining control.
“This is a small group of people who only control the television,” his office said. “The regular army is regaining control. The city and the country are completely secure.”
The announcement follows two coups in Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau in as many months. Benin is bordered in the north by Niger and Burkina Faso, which have also seen military takeovers.
The French Embassy said on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence in the economic capital.
It urged French citizens to remain indoors for security.
But Talon’s entourage said Talon, who has been president of the west African nation for 10 years and is due to step down in April, was safe.
“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city and the country are completely secure,” his office told AFP.
Benin’s political history has been marked by several coups and attempted coups.
Talon, who came to power in 2016, is due to reach the end of his second term in 2026, the maximum allowed by the constitution.
The main opposition party has been excluded from the race to succeed him, and instead the ruling party will vie for power against a so-called “moderate” opposition.
Talon, a 67-year-old former businessman dubbed the “cotton king” of Cotonou, has been praised for bringing economic development to Benin but is regularly accused by his critics of authoritarianism.
