Benin hunts for fugitive soldiers after failed coup

(CLO) The Benin government is currently actively searching for soldiers who fled after a coup attempt last weekend failed.

At least 10 suspects have been arrested following the incident, while the group's leader, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, is still on the run. All hostages, including Army Chief of Staff Abou Issa and National Guard Chief of Staff Colonel Faizou Gomina, have been rescued safely.

A large-scale manhunt is underway, with suspicions that more fugitives may be hiding in rural areas.

By Monday (December 8), the situation in the administrative capital Cotonou was essentially "calm" and "peaceful", although a military presence was still visible on the streets. Government Secretary General Edouard Ouin-Ouro confirmed that a comprehensive investigation was underway.

Benin President Patrice Talon. Photo:

According to the announcement of the Benin Government , violent clashes broke out between coup plotters and Republican Guards right at the residence of President Patrice Talon in the city of Cotonou, causing casualties on both sides. Among the dead was the wife of General Bertin Bada, Chief of the President's Military Office.

A group of soldiers calling themselves the Benin Military Reconstruction Committee (CMR) appeared on television on December 7, claiming to have held a meeting and decided to "depose President Talon".

The small group of soldiers planned to neutralize or kidnap several generals and senior officers, said Edouard Ouin-Ouro, the government secretary. They mutinied at the Togbin base, capturing Mr. Gomina and Mr. Issa. The two commanders were later released in Tchaourou, a city more than 350 kilometers from Cotonou.

The coup attempt was quickly quelled on the same day, December 7. The military surrounded the Togbin base and carried out precision airstrikes. The Benin government received military support from Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in this effort.

By the afternoon of December 8, the situation in Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin, had gradually stabilized and traffic returned to normal.

ECOWAS said military forces from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone were being deployed to Benin to assist the government in "maintaining constitutional order".

Source: https://congluan.vn/benin-truy-bat-binh-si-dao-tau-sau-vu-dao-chinh-that-bai-10321902.html