Benin soldiers claim to have seized power

A group of soldiers on Benin's national television claimed to have seized power in the West African nation on Sunday.

Later, however, Benin's foreign minister said that loyalist soldiers and national guards had regained control.

"There is an attempt but the situation is under control. Now it's a small group of military. A large part of the army is still loyalist and we are taking over the situation," Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, told Reuters.

He added that the coup plotters had only taken control of state TV and that the signal had been cut for several minutes.

The announcement came as the West African country was preparing for a presidential election in April that would mark the end of the tenure of incumbent Patrice Talon, in power since 2016.

Benin’s ruling coalition had nominated Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni to be its candidate, positioning a man seen as a key architect of its economic policies to pursue the administration’s current reform agenda if elected.

Talon's decision to step down after two terms was a rare move in the West and Central Africa region where democratic norms are increasingly under pressure.

A coup last month in Guinea-Bissau was the ninth in the region since 2020.