Benin president appears on TV following coup attempt: Situation 'totally under control'

Benin's president has appeared on television to reassure citizens of the West African nation that the situation was now "totally under control" following an attempted coup earlier in the day.

"I would like to commend the sense of duty demonstrated by our army and its leaders, who have remained... loyal to the nation," Patrice Talon said, looking calm during the live evening broadcast.

Later in the afternoon, huge explosions were heard in Cotonou, Benin's largest city and seat of government. They were thought to have been the result of an air strike.

Earlier on Sunday, a group of soldiers appeared on Benin ’s state TV to announce the dissolution of the government, the latest of many in West Africa.

The group, which called itself the Military Committee for Refoundation, announced the removal of the president and all state institutions.

Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri has been appointed president of the military committee, the soldiers said.

Following its independence from France in 1960, the West African nation witnessed multiple coups, especially in the decades following its independence.

Since 1991, the country has been politically stable following the two-decade rule of Marxist-Leninist Mathieu Kérékou.

“Everything is fine,” Wilfried Houngbedji, the spokesperson for the Benin Government, told The Associated Press without expanding.

Talon had been in power since 2016 and was due to step down next April after the presidential election.

Talon’s party pick, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, was the favourite to win the election.

Opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was rejected by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have sufficient sponsors.

In January, two associates of Talon were sentenced to 20 years in prison for an alleged 2024 coup plot.

Last month, the country’s legislature extended the presidential term of office from five to seven years, keeping the term limit at two.

The coup is the latest in a string of military takeovers that have rocked West Africa. Last month, a military coup in Guinea-Bissau removed former President Umaro Embalo after a contested election in which both he and the opposition candidate declared themselves winners.