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Foiled coup attempt in Benin
On Sunday evening, Benin’s President Patrice Talon announced in a televised address that the attempted coup by the Comité militaire pour la refondation (CMR) earlier that day had failed and that the constitutional order had been restored. On Sunday morning, a group of CMR soldiers had occupied the national television station in Cotonou and announced the dissolution of the government and the suspension of all state institutions during a live broadcast. The CMR, led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, cited the tense security situation in the north of the country and the government’s treatment of fallen soldiers and their families as reasons for the attempted coup. However, it also accused President Talon’s government of a lack of transparency in public procurement procedures, the restriction of political freedoms and the repression of political opposition. According to Interior Minister Alassane Seidou, the rest of the Beninese army remained loyal and crushed the coup attempt. The government has not yet commented on the possible number of casualties. According to reports, 14 people were arrested, but Lieutenant Colonel Tigri and other coup plotters are said to have fled to neighbouring Togo and to be currently in Lomé.
In his speech, President Talon also thanked the Nigerian army for its support. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu subsequently confirmed that, at Benin’s request and in accordance with the protocol of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), he had deployed both ground troops and air forces. According to Beninese Lieutenant Dieudonné Djimon Tévoédjrè, Nigeria carried out three air strikes on Beninese territory. On Tuesday, the French Presidency also announced that France had provided President Talon’s government with information and logistical support. ECOWAS, of which both Benin and Nigeria are members, condemned the coup on Sunday and confirmed the deployment of a multinational standby force to Benin. This force is intended to support the Beninese government and army and maintain constitutional order in the country. Armed forces from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are participating in the force.
The last time ECOWAS deployed a standby force was in 2017 when former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh refused to relinquish power after losing the election. Observers view the current ECOWAS mission as an important political signal and an attempt to regain lost credibility at a time when the regional organisation is under pressure from repeated military coups, most recently in Guinea-Bissau (Press Review CW 49/2025) and tensions with the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), as an important political signal and an attempt to restore lost credibility. Meanwhile, according to Nigerian sources, a diplomatic incident with the AES, which reported a violation of its airspace on Monday in connection with the emergency landing of a Nigerian military aircraft in Burkina Faso, has been resolved. At a meeting of ECOWAS’s highest security council, the Mediation and Security Council, the president of the commission of the regional organisation, Oumar Touray, spoke on Tuesday of a state of emergency in West Africa in view of current developments and called on member states to invest more in the security of their countries and to regain trust in government institutions.
Benin’s President Talon, whom critics accuse of systematically undermining democratic institutions in recent years, is also likely to face this task. Local and parliamentary elections are scheduled for 11 January, followed by presidential elections in April, with the main opposition parties excluded from both the local and presidential elections. In addition, at Talon’s suggestion, parliament recently passed a controversial constitutional amendment that provides for the extension of the terms of office of members of parliament and the president, as well as the establishment of a senate that is not elected by the population (Press Review CW 47/2025). The security situation in the north of the country is considered tense. There have been repeated jihadist attacks this year, in which several soldiers have been killed. The attacks were carried out by the Islamist group Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), which is active in the Sahel region.
War in the DR Congo escalates despite peace treaty
On Wednesday morning, the M23 announced the capture of the strategically important eastern Congolese town of Uvira on the border with Burundi. Media footage shows the rebels marching into the town around midday, after the Congolese army had already withdrawn the previous day. Parts of the government army and allied militias fled by boat to Kamlemie, located about 280 kilometres south of Lake Tanganyika. The port city of Uvira, located northwest of Lake Tanganyika, is considered a trading hub for the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), facilitating trade with both Burundi and Tanzania and ensuring the region’s access to the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, around 30,000 people are said to have fled to neighbouring Burundi, whose economic capital Bujumbura is only 30 kilometres from Uvira. This is increasing concerns about a further regional spread of the war, which is escalating less than a week after the signing of the US-brokered peace treaty between the DR Congo and Rwanda.
The so-called Washington Accords signed between Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame called for Rwanda to end its support for the M23 and withdraw its own troops from the DR Congo. At the same time, the DR Congo agreed to one of Rwanda’s key demands and committed itself to neutralising the Hutu rebel movement Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), whose ranks include commanders who participated in the Rwandan genocide. Both sides described the agreement as a turning point for the region, but observers questioned its effectiveness from the outset.
Meanwhile, the DR Congo and Rwanda are accusing each other of violating the agreed ceasefire and thereby also the agreement. Last Friday, one day after the signing, heavy fighting broke out between the Congolese army and the M23, which was not involved in the Washington process but is negotiating separately with the Congolese government in talks mediated by Qatar. An M23 spokesman accused the DR Congo armed forces of attacking densely populated areas in North and South Kivu. In contrast, the Congolese government accused the M23 of violently advancing on other villages on the way to Uvira. This prompted the US and various European governments, including Germany, to call on the M23 and Rwanda on Tuesday to comply with the peace agreement and cease their offensive operations. After the capture of Uvira on Wednesday, Congolese sources reported that, in addition to M23 fighters, Rwandan special forces and foreign mercenaries were also present in the town.
For its part, Rwanda on Wednesday blamed both the Congolese and Burundian armies for a bombing raid on the village of Kamanyola, which had been captured by the M23, in which more than 50 people lost their lives. At a public event in Kigali, President Kagame criticised the presence and activities of 20,000 Burundian soldiers in and around Uvira as well as the silence on this by the international community. Meanwhile, the Burundian government stated that it would not leave attacks on its soldiers or even its territory unanswered. Accordingly, analysts see the recent events as a threat to the stability of the entire Great Lakes region.
Breaking News
On Wednesday, the US House Committee on Ways and Means approved an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) until 31 December 2028. This is the first step towards extending the trade agreement, which grants certain products from eligible sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the US market. It expired on 30 September this year. Following the committee’s approval, the AGOA extension bill must still be approved by both houses of the US Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate) and finally by President Donald Trump. It remains unclear whether South Africa will continue to be part of the 25-year-old trade agreement. Against the backdrop of increasing tensions between Washington and Pretoria, which recently led to South Africa being uninvited from the 2026 G20 summit in the US, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has now raised the prospect of possibly excluding South Africa from AGOA in the future if the US Congress votes to do so.
In other news
At the 18th German Sustainability Award ceremony last Friday, two prominent African women were honoured for their contribution to global sustainability. Nigerian economist Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala received one of this year’s six honorary awards. She is currently Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the first woman and first African to hold this position. The award recognised her efforts to promote trade reforms that integrate climate protection and sustainable economic practices. She was also recognised for her commitment to fairer trade conditions for developing countries. Alongside her, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate was also awarded an honorary prize for her work in establishing a continental network of young African climate activists through Youth for Future Africa and the Rise Up Movement. The jury also highlighted the 29-year-old’s work as a UNICEF ambassador for incorporating the perspectives of the Global South into the design of international sustainability strategies. Since 2008, the German Sustainability Award has honoured individuals, companies and products that have made outstanding contributions to sustainable development