"Africa's expanding coup belt gained a new front line on December 7, when soldiers appeared on Benin's state television claiming power. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri and calling themselves the Military Committee for Refoundation, eight uniformed men declared President Patrice Talon removed from office, suspended the constitution, dissolved state institutions. Observers prepared for a now-familiar scenario: A forced resignation, leaders detained or under house arrest, and routine condemnations from the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)."
"However, by midday, those expectations were upended. Within hours of the broadcast, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou announced that the coup attempt had been thwarted. Talon reappeared publicly, on TV, and authorities reported the arrest of at least 14 plotters, including 12 soldiers. The announcement and subsequent drama sent shockwaves across the region, yet it was not a sudden rupture, but the visible peak of a deeper political crisis years in the making."
On December 7 soldiers appeared on Benin's state television claiming power, led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri and naming themselves the Military Committee for Refoundation. Eight uniformed men declared President Patrice Talon removed, suspended the constitution, dissolved state institutions, and ordered border closures. Authorities later said the coup attempt was thwarted, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou announced arrests of at least 14 plotters including 12 soldiers, and Talon reappeared on television. The episode exposed a deeper political crisis and the erosion of legitimacy. Benin's democratic norms established after the 1990 National Conference had been systematically undermined under Talon's presidency.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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