A group of military personnel in Benin on Sunday announced that they had ousted President Patrice Talon, who is due to step down next April after 10 years in power.
Soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), said on state television that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”.
The soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri stormed the national television station on Sunday morning.
Talon’s whereabouts were not immediately known. There were reports of gunfire near the president’s official residence.
This comes amid a wave of military takeovers in West and Central Africa in recent years.
Last month, the army seized power in Guinea-Bissau, toppling President Umaru Embalo, as the country awaited outcome of tense presidential elections in which he was seeking a re-election.
