There is instability in Benin after soldiers, on Sunday, declared that they had overthrown President Patrice Talon.
NewsBits reports that the President’s final term is scheduled to end in April after a decade in office. Recall that there has been an increase in military coups in African countries in recent times.
The officers, appearing on national television under the banner of the Military Committee for Refoundation (CMR), announced that they had convened and resolved that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as President of the Republic.”
The president’s whereabouts were unclear as of the announcement. Meanwhile, the French Embassy posted an advisory on X, confirming reports of gunfire around Camp Guezo, located near Talon’s official residence, and urging French nationals in the country to remain indoors for their safety.
However, reports later emerged that President Talon is safe, and security forces are restoring order after a faction of soldiers claimed to have removed him from power, the presidency announced on Sunday. In a brief statement, the presidency dismissed the soldiers’ declaration as the actions of a fringe group with limited influence.
“This is a small group of individuals who have only managed to seize the television station. The regular army is steadily regaining control. Both the city and the entire country remain completely secure,” the statement said.
The clarification follows an earlier broadcast by soldiers identifying themselves as the “Military Committee for Refoundation,” who declared that Talon had been removed from office.
