ECOWAS deploys regional troops to Benin after failed coup attempt
Troops drawn from Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone will be deployed to assist Benin's authorities in safeguarding constitutional order and territorial integrity, ECOWAS said in a statement.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has ordered the deployment of a regional standby force to Benin on Sunday after an attempted coup briefly unsettled the coastal West African state, further testing the bloc's resolve against unconstitutional seizures of power.
Troops drawn from Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone will be deployed to assist Benin's authorities in safeguarding constitutional order and territorial integrity, ECOWAS said in a statement.
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The move follows earlier warnings by the bloc that it would support Benin "by all necessary means," including military intervention.
Nigeria, West Africa's dominant military power, has already moved quickly. Abuja confirmed the deployment of Air Force fighter jets to Benin after receiving two urgent requests from the Beninese government.
The first sought immediate air support to help dislodge suspected coup plotters from a national television station and a military camp.
The second asked for Nigerian aircraft to conduct surveillance and rapid-response operations under Beninese command.
Benin also requested the possible deployment of Nigerian ground forces, strictly limited to missions authorised by Benin's military leadership, to protect constitutional institutions and contain armed elements.
Confusion briefly reigned after a group of soldiers appeared on state television claiming they had overthrown President Patrice Talon and installed Lt-Col Pascal Tigri as head of a newly formed "Military Committee for Refoundation." Within hours, however, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou said the attempt—by what he described as a "small group of soldiers"—had been thwarted.
Talon later declared the situation "totally under control," urging citizens to resume normal life.
The attempted coup comes weeks after a successful military takeover in Guinea-Bissau, underscoring the fragility of civilian rule across parts of West Africa and increasing pressure on ECOWAS to demonstrate that its zero-tolerance doctrine against coups still carries force.
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