Benin’s President Patrice Talon has thanked the country’s military leadership for helping to suppress an attempted coup and pledged that those responsible would be held accountable.

The attempted takeover began early Sunday when a group of soldiers, calling themselves the Military Committee for Refoundation, seized state television and announced that the government had been dissolved. Hours later, the interior minister said the plot had been “foiled.”

Addressing the nation on Sunday evening, Talon praised the armed forces for their loyalty and swift action.

“I would like to commend the sense of duty of our army and its leaders who remained republican and loyal to the nation. With them, we stood firm, recaptured our positions, and cleared the last pockets of resistance from the mutants. This commitment and mobilisation allowed us to thwart these adventurers and save our country. This treachery will not go unpunished,” he said.

Talon also offered condolences to victims of “this senseless adventure,” adding that efforts were underway to locate those still held by fleeing mutineers. He did not disclose casualty or hostage figures.

Local media reported that 13 soldiers have been arrested, though it remains unclear whether coup leader Lt Col Pascal Tigri is among them. Gunfire and military patrols were observed in parts of Cotonou, but calm largely returned as state television and radio signals were restored.

The failed coup adds to a growing list of military takeovers and attempted takeovers in West Africa. Only weeks earlier, Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Embalo was ousted following a disputed election.

The regional bloc ECOWAS condemned the Benin incident as “a subversion of the will of the people of Benin” and said it deployed troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana to help preserve constitutional order. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu commended his country’s forces for supporting the Beninese military, with government spokesperson Bayo Onanuga confirming that Benin had requested both air and ground assistance.

“It took some hours before the government’s loyal forces, assisted by Nigeria, took control and flushed out the coup plotters from the National TV,” Onanuga said.

Benin, once prone to frequent coups after independence from France in 1960, has enjoyed political stability since 1991. President Talon, in office since 2016, is expected to leave power next April following the presidential election. His party’s candidate, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is widely seen as the frontrunner after opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was disqualified for lacking sufficient sponsors.