Benin’s president has appeared on television to reassure citizens of the West African nation that the situation was “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.
The government said it had thwarted the mutiny hours after a group of soldiers declared a takeover.
Later in the afternoon, huge explosions were heard in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city and the seat of the country’s government. They were 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 towards 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 have been a series of coups in West Africa before Sunday’s thwarted attempt in Benin, heightening fears that the 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 it 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”.
The 67-year-old president said in his address that loyalist forces had “cleared the last pockets of resistance held by the mutineers.
“This commitment and mobilisation enabled us to defeat these opportunists and avert disaster for our country. This treachery will not go unpunished,” he added.
“I would like to reassure you that the situation is completely under control and therefore invite you to go about your business peacefully this evening.”
It is not clear if there have been casualties, but the president expressed his condolences “to the victims of this senseless adventure, as well as to those still being held by fleeing mutineers”.
Earlier, government spokesperson Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji told news agency Reuters that 14 people had been arrested in connection with the attempted coup.
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 gunfire was heard near the presidential residence early on Sunday morning, as a group of soldiers announced on national TV that they were suspending the constitution.
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 southwards.
The soldier’s 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 tax rises, as well as curbs on political activities.
Talon, 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, despite Benin’s current 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.
Sunday’s attempted coup comes just over a week after Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló was overthrown – though some regional figures have questioned whether this was staged.
In recent years, West Africa has also seen coups in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger, prompting concerns about the region’s stability.
Russia has strengthened its ties with these Sahel countries over recent years – and Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have left the West African regional bloc Ecowas to form their own group, the Alliance of Sahel States.
News of the attempted takeover in Benin was hailed by several pro-Russian social media accounts, according to BBC Monitoring.
Ecowas and the African Union (AU) have both condemned the coup attempt.
A contingent from Ecowas’s standby force is to be deployed to preserve the “constitutional order and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Benin”, the regional bloc has said in a statement.
AU Commission chair Mahmoud Ali Yousouf reiterated the pan-African organisation’s “zero tolerance stance toward any unconstitutional change of government, regardless of context or justification”.
