Shots were heard early Sunday morning in Cotonouthe main city of Benin. Shortly after, a group of soldiers broke into the state television headquarters and announced before the cameras that the country’s president, Patrice Talon, had been deposed, and that the government was now in charge of the Military Committee for Restoration. Benin woke up on Sunday with a coup d’état in progress. The third in Africa in less than two months.
The shooting continued. Every bullet fired increases uncertainty. In some moment of confusionlieutenant colonel Pascal Tigri, leader of the rebelsshared a video on social networks in which he confirmed that he was carrying out an “operation” to “free the Beninese people from the dictatorship of Patrice Talon“In his appearance, he also gave a warning: that France should not intervene in the internal affairs of his nation. And with this it was revealed that the coup was, in fact, real, and that its leader was this lieutenant colonel of the National guarddiscreet, little known to the public.
The clashes continued, increasingly subdued. And it was around noon, when the uncertainty reached its maximum levels, that the minister of Interior and Public Security, Alassane Seïdouappeared on the same network as the coup plotters, on the same set, to announce that the coup had been aborted: “The Benin Armed Forces and its hierarchy, faithful to their oath, remained committed to republican principles. His actions allowed him to maintain control of the situation and thwart the attempt. Therefore, the Government invites the population to continue with their activities normally.”
The Russian shadow
In the last five years, eleven coups have succeeded in Africa. Madagascar, Guinea Bissaau, Mali, Níger, Burkina Faso, Sudan y Chad have been the affected nations, and it is worth noting that several of the resulting military governments have chosen to break or distance their ties. relations with Francein exchange for closer relations with Russia. It is a pattern that has been repeated in Mali, Niger, Sudan, Chad and Burkina Faso, and it seemed that something similar would happen in Benin when Tigri appealed directly to France not to intervene.
And the accounts sympathetic to Russia celebrated the coup on social networks in the usual way, that is, cheering a new French defeat. Because nothing that happens in West Africa It is alien to the rest of the planet. He confrontation between Russia and France on the continent it is already known by everyone. Therefore, for every pro-France government that falls into the hands of the coup plotters, a military junta is born eager to establish relations with Moscow.
The same accounts that celebrated the coup in the morning assured at noon that the fight continued. For this they used old men videos from Ukraine and the Sahelquickly denied by the users themselves in the comments. The user @OgbeniDemola, with more than 155,000 followers on X, denounced that “France is fighting to protect its puppet regime in the Benin Republic. Africa is still a colonized territory, and our leaders are governors.” And, as this story tells, many more.
Several soldiers in Cotonou on the day of the coup attempt.
There was a coup attempt that the usual suspects interpreted as “a victory for African sovereignty” (although each of the countries that have switched to France for Russia They find themselves today in a worse security situation than when the military took power) and the coup was aborted, but the expectation remained. Especially when it was known that the Nigerian Air Force bombed alleged positions of the rebels on the border on Sunday afternoon Benin-Nigeria.
CEDAO reacts with French aid
Images were broadcast of an A-29 Super Tucano flying over Beninese territory while it was machine-gunned, unsuccessfully, by the rebels. It was publicly acknowledged that Nigeria was actively collaborating with the legitimate Beninese government in its fight against the coup plotters. and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) In the last hours of the day, it issued a statement announcing the deployment in Benin of a joint response force, made up of troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
It is worth highlighting that this joint force, known as “Standby Force“was originally created in 2023, after the coup d’état in Niger that placed the military in power. Designed as a response to the ECOWAS to confront the epidemic of coups d’état affecting the region, never used, seemed to remain an anecdote. Until now.
The reaction of ECOWAS, applauded by some, has been seriously criticized by those who celebrated the coup. According to this sector of opinion, the ECOWAS It functions as a “servant” of Paris, and denounces that “France and its allies” are violating Beninese sovereignty through the military response announced by ECOWAS. Logically, France and the rest of the nations involved act within the existing legality and in response to the help requested by the democratically elected president of Benin, but not even the most logical of explanations is enough to appease the spirits of the anti-French.
It was even rumored that the Yoruba (ethnicity with a large presence in Benin and Nigeria and with more than 50 million people around the world), ethnic group to which the president of Nigeria and the mother of the president of Benin, took advantage of the maneuver to increase their power in both nations. However, the latter has not been confirmed by any official source.
Because the situation in Benin is critical. Sunday’s attempt was not a cause, but a consequence of this crisis with no end in sight. Politically, he himself Patrice Talonwho has presided over the country since 2016, has been repeatedly accused of undermining the democratic system by various civil organizations. And the 2019 legislative elections were proof of its authoritarian drift, when no opposition party was able to participate in the electoral process by, supposedly, legal criteria that were introduced months before by the Government.
The protests that followed ended with several protesters dead. Several opponents have been imprisoned in recent years or have been forced to leave the country. That is to say, that Patrice Talonalthough democratically elected in 2016 and 2021, has leaned towards authoritarian actions that explained to a certain extent the speech of the coup plotters, when they claimed to have revolted to end “the dictatorship of Patrice Talon”.
A security crisis must be added to the political crisis. Since 2021, terrorist groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State have penetrated the north of Beninarrived from Niger and Burkina Fasowith the aim of expanding its influence and seeking an outlet to the sea through the Gulf of Guinea. These groups, among which the JNIM stands out, have become strong in the forested areas of the north, to the point that today Benin has areas completely inaccessible to state authorities. In April of this year, without going any further, more than 50 Beninese soldiers were killed in an ambush organized by the JNIM, in what is considered the largest terrorist attack in the history of the country.
The help of France and the United Stateslimited to troop training and aerial surveillance (French planes flew over Beninese airspace throughout Sunday and Monday), is completely insufficient to confront the terrorist threat. And it cannot be forgotten that it is enough to drive eight hours on the road to reach the country’s capital from the areas occupied by the JNIM.
Benin is a country associated with France, besieged by the islamic terrorism and subject to a serious political crisis. Just like Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso before the establishment of military junta that opened the door to Moscow in the region. The difference in this case, it seems, is that the coup did not succeed, partly thanks to the reaction of ECOWAS, and this leaves a clear message: in a context of hybrid war between France and Moscow in Africathis last battle has been won by Paris. And, what is more important: that ECOWAS confirms with its actions its support for the democratic governments of its region.