Benin's Interior Minister announced that the army managed to prevent a coup attempt.

“A small group of soldiers staged a rebellion with the aim of destabilizing the country and its institutions,” Seidou said on air. “In this situation, Benin’s armed forces and their leadership maintained control of what was happening and thwarted the coup attempt.”

Later, an advisor to the president told the BBC that the president was in a safe location.

“This is a small group of people who control only television. The regular army is regaining control. The city and the country are completely safe,” the president's office told AFP.

However, the situation in Cotonou – Benin's largest city and seat of government – remains unclear, as powerful explosions, reportedly caused by an airstrike, were heard late in the day.

According to local media, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, who led the attempted mutiny in Benin, is on the run and is being sought.

Government spokesman Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji told Reuters that 14 people had been arrested in connection with the coup attempt.

A journalist from Benin told the BBC that 12 of those arrested allegedly participated in the seizure of the national television building.

The military, calling themselves the "Military Committee for Reorganization," announced on national television that they had held a meeting and decided to "remove Patrice Talon from the post of president of the republic."

The rebels explained their actions by dissatisfaction with Talon's policies, criticizing the country's president for "the prolonged deterioration of the security situation in northern Benin."

In recent years, Benin's army has suffered losses on the northern border with Niger and Burkina Faso, where militants linked to ISIS and Al-Qaeda are pushing further south.

The rebels' statement spoke of "ignorance and disregard for the situation of fallen comrades on the front line, and especially for their families, abandoned to fate by Patrice Talon's policies."

The rebels also opposed cuts in healthcare spending, including the abolition of state funding for kidney dialysis, tax increases, and increased restrictions on political activity.

On Sunday morning, the French embassy in Benin reported that gunshots were heard in the area of the presidential residence in Cotonou, the country's largest city. The embassy urged its citizens to stay home for safety.

67-year-old Talon is due to step down next year after completing his second term, with elections scheduled for April.

Talon is a businessman known in Benin as the "cotton king." He first came to power through elections in 2016. Talon promised not to run for a third term and has already named his successor.

Talon has been highly praised by his supporters for the economic growth achieved under his leadership, but his government has also been criticized for suppressing dissent.

In October, the electoral commission banned the main opposition candidate from running in the elections on the grounds that he did not have enough sponsors.

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