Скачать или смотреть Nigeria's Swift Intervention Thwarts Benin Coup, Amid Scrutiny Over ECOWAS Regional Double Standards

In a dramatic display of regional solidarity, Nigerian fighter jets and ground troops spearheaded the rapid quashing of a short-lived coup attempt in Benin, marking Abuja's first major foreign military intervention in nearly a decade. The operation, greenlit by President Bola Tinubu at the urgent behest of his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon, unfolded just weeks after Benin's parliament quietly extended presidential terms—a move that has reignited debates over ECOWAS's uneven enforcement of democratic norms across West Africa.

The failed putsch erupted in the early hours of Sunday, December 7, when a faction of disgruntled soldiers, led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, stormed state television headquarters in Cotonou. Broadcasting under the banner of the "Military Committee for Refoundation," the eight uniformed rebels declared Talon deposed, suspended the constitution, dissolved national institutions, and ordered border closures. They cited grievances over deteriorating security in Benin's volatile north, where jihadist incursions from the Sahel have strained military resources.

Loyalist forces, bolstered by external aid, moved with precision. By 11:09 a.m., Benin's Interior Minister Alassane Seidou announced the plot had been thwarted, crediting domestic troops for reclaiming key sites. Yet the decisive blow came from the skies: Responding to two formal pleas from Talon's government—one via a Note Verbale from Benin's Foreign Ministry—Tinubu authorized Nigerian Air Force jets to seize control of Benin's airspace. Precision airstrikes targeted the Togbin military camp where plotters had regrouped, scattering the mutineers and expelling them from the TV station.

Ground troops followed, securing perimeters and aiding arrests. Benin reports 14 plotters in custody, with several others killed in the clashes and an unknown number fleeing into neighboring bushland. Casualties mounted on both sides, though exact figures remain unconfirmed, and the fate of hostages taken during the initial assault is unclear.

Talon, addressing the nation that evening from a secure location, vowed "severe retribution" against the "treacherous" insurgents, insisting the crisis was "totally under control." "This was an assault on our 35-year democratic journey," he declared, flanked by top security chiefs. The president, a cotton magnate turned strongman who has ruled since 2016, praised loyal forces and international partners for averting chaos in a nation long hailed as a West African democratic beacon....