The Government of Benin has confirmed several deaths following a violent coup attempt over the weekend, including the killing of the wife of a senior military figure and the fatal injuries sustained by the president’s chief of staff.
The incident came to light on Monday during an emergency cabinet briefing led by President Patrice Talon in Cotonou. According to official statements, heavy gunfire erupted early Sunday around the president’s residence when mutinous soldiers clashed with members of the Republican Guard.
Government secretary general Edouard Ouin-Ouro, summarizing the cabinet’s findings, stated that casualties were reported on both sides of the confrontation. Among the dead was the wife of General Bertin Bada, President Talon’s military chief of staff. Bada himself was gravely wounded in a separate coordinated attack and later succumbed to his injuries.
Ouin-Ouro explained that the insurgents had planned a sweeping offensive aimed at destabilizing the top military hierarchy. Their objective, he said, was to abduct or eliminate key military leaders as part of a wider plot to unseat the president, undermine state institutions, and disrupt constitutional order.
The uprising originated at the Togbin military base in Cotonou and was reportedly orchestrated by a small but organized faction of soldiers. Late Sunday, the group abducted National Guard chief Faizou Gomina and army chief General Abou Issa. The officers were later released unharmed in Tchaourou, a city several hundred kilometres from the capital, suggesting the mutineers were attempting to spread the unrest geographically.
In response, the Beninese armed forces launched a rapid counter-assault. Troops surrounded the Togbin base while the military carried out precise airstrikes to regain control. Authorities emphasized that these strikes were planned to avoid civilian harm and prevent escalation in nearby neighbourhoods.
Support for the operation came from the Nigerian military as well as ECOWAS, which dispatched units from four neighbouring countries to assist Benin’s forces. By Monday, the Togbin base had been fully secured without further casualties during the final takeover.
Ouin-Ouro reported that the remaining plotters fled the scene, while several suspected mutineers—estimated at around a dozen—have already been apprehended. He added that investigations are ongoing to determine the full scope of the attempted coup and identify all individuals involved.
If you’d like, I can also create a shorter version, a more dramatic headline, or format this as a news-style press release.
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