(BBC News) The government of Benin says it has foiled an attempted coup by members of the West African nation’s armed forces.
“The Beninese armed forces and their leadership, true to their oath, remained committed to the republic,” Interior Minister Alassane Seidou said in a televised address several hours after a group of soldiers made a broadcast in which they said they had ousted President Patrice Talon.
A presidential adviser later told the BBC that the president was in a safe location.
However, the situation in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city and the seat of the country’s government, remains unclear as huge explosions were heard in the late afternoon – thought to have been the result of an air strike.
Prior to the explosions, flight-tracking data shows that three aircraft entered Benin’s airspace from neighbouring Nigeria.
Two have since returned to the Nigerian city of Lagos and a third appears to be heading toward an airbase in Kanji in western Nigeria. At one stage, two of the aircraft were flying side by side, which analysts suggest indicates they were military planes.
At the time, a French air force plane was maintaining a circular pattern over Cotonou. French diplomats have denied earlier reports that Talon had taken refuge at France’s embassy in Cotonou.
There has been a series of coups in West Africa before Sunday’s thwarted attempt in Benin, heightening fears that security of the region could worsen.
Benin, a former French colony, has been regarded as one of Africa’s more stable democracies. But Talon has faced accusations of suppressing criticism of his policies.
The nation is one of the continent’s largest cotton producers, but ranks among the world’s poorest countries.
Nigeria, Benin’s large neighbour to the east, has described the coup attempt as a “direct assault on democracy”.
Seidou said in his address that “a small group of soldiers launched a mutiny aimed at destabilising the state and its institutions,” adding that loyalist soldiers had been able “to retain control of the situation and foil the attempt.”
Fourteen people have been arrested in connection with the attempted coup, government spokesperson Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji told news agency Reuters.
A journalist in Benin told the BBC that, of those reportedly arrested, 12 are believed to have stormed the offices of the national TV station – including a soldier who had previously been sacked.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that, early on Sunday morning, gunfire was heard near the presidential residence. They also said some journalists working for the state broadcaster had been held hostage for a few hours.
The French and Russian embassies urged their citizens to remain indoors, while the US embassy’s advice was to stay away from Cotonou, especially the area around the presidential compound.
The rebel soldiers, led by Lt Col Pascal Tigri, justified their actions by criticising Talon’s management of the country, complaining first about his handling of the “continuing deterioration of the security situation in northern Benin.”
Benin’s army has suffered loses near its northern border with insurgency-hit Niger and Burkina Faso in recent years, as jihadist militants linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda spread southward.
The rebel soldiers’ statement cited “the ignorance and neglect of the situation of our brothers in arms who have fallen at the front and, above all, that of their families, abandoned to their sad fate by Mr Patrice Talon’s policies.”
The rebels also hit out at cuts in health care, including the cancellation of state-funded kidney dialysis, and taxes rises, as well as curbs on political activities.
Talon, 67, who is regarded as a close ally of the West, is due to step down next year after completing his second term in office, with elections scheduled for April.
A businessman known as the “king of cotton”, he first came to power in 2016. He promised not to seek a third term – Benin has a two-term limit for presidencies – and has endorsed Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as his successor.
Talon has been praised by his supporters for overseeing economic development, but his government has also been criticised for suppressing dissenting voices.
In October, Benin’s electoral commission barred the main opposition candidate from standing, on the grounds that he did not have enough sponsors.
Last month, constitutional amendments were passed by MPs, including the creation of a second parliamentary chamber, the Senate.
Terms for elected officials were extended from five to seven years, but the presidential two-term limit remained in place.
