Soldiers in Benin say they have seized power from President Talon

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete December 7, 2025 at 11:22 AM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

Soldiers in Benin announced on national television that they have seized power from President Patrice Talon, suspending the constitution and closing borders. The announcement was followed by reports of gunfire near the presidential residence in Cotonou. However, government officials claim the situation is under control, stating that the soldiers at the TV station lack the support of the regular army and that the city is secure. The whereabouts of President Talon are currently unknown. The soldiers, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Tigri Pascal, justified their actions by criticizing President Talon's governance. Benin, considered a stable democracy, is scheduled to hold elections in April after Talon completes his second term. Foreign embassies have urged their citizens to remain indoors.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

French embassy 50% Cotonou ×280% Patrice Talon ×4100% Benin ×3100%

Keywords

coup 90% seized power 80% president talon 80% benin 70% military transition 60% constitution suspended 50% national tv 50% political instability 50% west africa 40% cotonou 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.30

Source Transparency

Source

BBC News - World

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Benin

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

coup seized power president talon benin military transition constitution suspended national tv political instability west africa cotonou

Explore Full Topic Graph