ECOWAS

On 7 December in Benin, a small group of soldiers attempted a coup d’État. Early in the morning, after gunfire was heard around the presidency, eight armed soldiers appeared on national television, presenting themselves as the Comité militaire pour la refondation (CMR). They announced that they had deposed President Patrice Talon and proclaimed Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri as “President of the CMR”, justifying their action by referring to the security situation in northern Benin and the “negligence towards soldiers killed on the front and their families left on their own”. This coup attempt occurred after months of deteriorating security in northern Benin, where 54 soldiers were killed in April when their bases were attacked by jihadists claiming affiliation with the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), linked to Al-Qaeda.