Calm returns to Cotonou after failed coup; US lifts travel warning, hostages released, and regional forces aid in restoring constitutional order.
Calm returned to Benin’s capital Cotonou on Monday December 8, 2025, following a failed coup attempt on Sunday, with hostages freed and the United States lifting a temporary shelter-in-place advisory for American citizens.
The US Embassy in Cotonou said conditions had stabilized after a turbulent 24 hours. “The situation in Cotonou is calm and has returned to normal. We are lifting the shelter-in-place recommendation,” the embassy stated, while urging continued caution and avoidance of crowds or demonstrations.
The attempted coup was led by a faction of soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation.” They briefly seized the national broadcaster and appeared on state television claiming to have dissolved the government and suspended the constitution, shortly after an unsuccessful assault on President Patrice Talon’s heavily guarded residence.
Interior Minister Alassane Seidou later confirmed that loyalist forces had regained control of key locations. At least 14 soldiers involved in the uprising were arrested, while others fled. Two senior officers—Chief of Army Staff Abou Issa and Army Chief Colonel Faizou Gomina—who were taken hostage during the mutiny, were released on Monday with support from Nigerian forces.
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AFP journalists in Cotonou reported traffic returning to normal and roads reopening, although military tanks remained stationed at key points. President Talon appeared on television Sunday December 7, 2025, assuring citizens that the situation was “completely under control” and warning that coup plotters would face justice.
The attempted takeover comes amid a wave of military interventions across West Africa, including in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau. In response, Nigeria deployed troops and conducted strikes in Cotonou to help suppress the uprising. ECOWAS announced the deployment of forces from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone to support the preservation of constitutional order.
International reactions were swift. The United Nations, African Union, France, and regional organizations condemned the coup and reaffirmed their support for democratic governance.
Under Benin’s constitution, Talon is completing his second term and is barred from seeking a third. Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, Talon’s designated successor, is the frontrunner for the April 2026 presidential election. Critics have accused Talon of authoritarian practices, including sidelining the main opposition party, despite the country’s economic growth.
Benin’s political history has been marked by repeated coups since independence in 1960, making the rapid suppression of Sunday’s mutiny a rare instance of swift stabilization and restoration of constitutional order.
