West African troops were deployed to Benin on Sunday following what the country’s president described as an unsuccessful coup attempt.

Benin’s president, Patrice Talon, said on Sunday that the situation was “totally under control” after security forces acted to end a coup attempt by a group of soldiers who attacked state institutions.

But Ecowas – West Africa’s regional bloc – said it had ordered the immediate deployment of elements of its standby force to the country, which has a population of about 14.5 million.

Soldiers from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone were being sent to “support the government and the Republican Army of Benin to preserve constitutional order and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Benin”, the bloc said in a statement.

Nigeria’s air force

See Full Page