UPDATE - UN, EU, regional blocs condemn coup attempt in Benin

ADDS UN AND EU CONDEMNATION OF COUP ATTEMPT, PRESIDENT TALON’S REMARKS

By Mevlut Ozkan and Fatma Zehra Solmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) strongly condemned a coup attempt Sunday in Benin, calling it a serious threat to the country’s stability and constitutional order.

Leonardo Santos Simao said he was following developments with “deep concern,” praising Beninese authorities for swiftly foiling the coup attempt and restoring control.

He also expressed solidarity with President Patrice Talon, the government, and the people of Benin, urging continued efforts to protect civilians and ensure a rapid return to calm. UNOWAS, he added, will keep supporting Benin in strengthening peace, democracy and stability.

European Commission spokesperson Anita Hipper said the European Union "strongly condemns" the coup attempt in Benin.

In a statement posted on the US social media company X’s platform, Hipper called for "respect for constitutional order and the Constitution" in Benin.

The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also condemned the coup attempt, expressing support for the government in upholding constitutional order.

AU Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf urged the coup plotters to immediately halt “all unlawful actions,” respect Benin’s Constitution, and promptly return to their barracks and professional duties, according to a statement.

Youssouf expressed “deep concern” over the rising number of military coups and attempted coups in the region, lamenting that such actions undermine continental stability, threaten democratic gains, and encourage military actors to act beyond constitutional authority.

He reaffirmed the AU’s “zero tolerance stance toward any unconstitutional change of government, regardless of context or justification.”

ECOWAS also condemned the coup attempt, pledging support to the government. In a statement, the bloc vowed to support the West African nation to defend its Constitution and territorial integrity “in all forms necessary,” including deployment of a regional standby force.

It said it holds the coup plotters “both individually and collectively responsible for any loss to life and property occasioned by their action.”

Praising the Beninese government and army for restoring control, it added that the attempted coup represents a “subversion of the will of the people of Benin.”

A group of Beninese soldiers told the state broadcaster Sunday that they had removed President Patrice Talon from power and appointed Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri to lead a newly formed “Military Committee for Refoundation.”

Interior Minister Alassane Seidou, however, said on national television that the coup attempt by “a small group of soldiers” was foiled, urging citizens to carry on with their daily activities.

Later Sunday, President Talon said the situation in Benin is “totally under control,” and citizens can return to their regular activities.

He made the remarks while addressing the nation through state broadcaster Benin TV, recalling that a “small group of soldiers…started a mutiny to attack republican institutions and destabilize the nation by challenging the democratic order.”

Talon said he undertook, as president and supreme chief of the armies, the necessary measures to ensure security in the country.

He also thanked the army officials who remained “republican and loyal to the country” and vowed that this attempt “will not go unpunished.”

The coup attempt follows a military coup in Guinea-Bissau in late November, which installed Gen. Horta Inta-A as transitional president.