Coup d’Etat
Benin has recently joined the expanding roster of African nations where military officers have attempted to seize control since 2020. This particular military takeover on a Sunday endured for several hours before authorities declared it had been successfully thwarted.
In a scenario that has become regrettably familiar across West Africa, a contingent of soldiers appeared on Benin’s state television on Sunday, announcing the removal of President Patrice Talon and the dissolution of the government following a swift power grab.
However, within hours, Benin’s Interior Minister, Alassane Seidou, released a video online confirming that the coup d’état had been put down. Seidou clarified that the soldiers involved “initiated a mutiny with the objective of destabilizing the state and its institutions,” adding that the armed forces remained “steadfastly committed to the Republic.”
Below is a chronological overview of military coups and attempted takeovers across Africa, often fueled by disputed elections, constitutional upheavals, escalating security crises, and widespread youth disaffection:
Mali: august 2020 and may 2021
Mali has experienced two successive military interventions since August 2020. That month, a group of soldiers mutinied, apprehending senior military officials near Bamako after weeks of civilian protests demanding the resignation of President Ibrahim Keïta, who faced accusations of corruption and an inability to counter armed extremist groups.
Colonel Assimi Goïta, the military leader, subsequently entered a power-sharing arrangement with civilian President Bah Ndaw, with Goïta assuming the role of vice president in the transitional government. In 2021, following a series of disagreements, Goïta ousted Ndaw and installed himself as president. He has since postponed elections, initially scheduled for 2022, until 2027.
Mali is part of a tripartite group of landlocked West African nations, alongside Burkina Faso and Niger, all currently governed by military juntas. These countries have formed their own alliance after withdrawing from ECOWAS, explicitly asserting their opposition to a swift return to democratic rule.
Chad: april 2021
In April 2021, following the death of his father, army general Mahamat Idriss Déby swiftly assumed power, thereby extending three decades of familial governance in this Central African nation.
Three years later, Déby organized the election he had promised upon taking office. He was declared the victor, a result widely dismissed by the opposition as fraudulent. Since then, he has intensified efforts to suppress dissent. The former Prime Minister and prominent opposition figure, Succès Masra, received a 20-year prison sentence earlier this year.
Guinea: september 2021
After 11 years in power, President Alpha Condé was overthrown in September 2021 by a group of soldiers led by Mamady Doumbouya. Condé had controversially amended the Constitution in 2020, enabling him to seek a third presidential term.
Doumbouya intends to run in the upcoming December elections and seeks to shed his military uniform, particularly after a referendum this year authorized junta members to contest elections and extended the presidential term duration from five to seven years.
Sudan: october 2021
The Sudanese army, under the command of General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, executed a coup in October 2021, deposing Omar el-Béchir, who had governed the country for 26 years.
Burhan subsequently entered a power-sharing agreement with Muhammad Dangalo, widely known as Hemetti, who leads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
By April 2023, a simmering rivalry between the two leaders erupted into what the United Nations describes as one of the world’s most catastrophic conflicts, a war that continues to this day.
Burkina Faso: january and september 2022
Similar to its neighbor Mali, Burkina Faso has experienced two successive coups. In January 2022, President Roch Kaboré was overthrown by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba. By September of the same year, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, commander of an artillery unit within the Burkinabè army, deposed Damiba, citing the identical justification as the preceding coup: a deteriorating security situation.
Traoré has since governed the country. In July, he dissolved the independent electoral commission.
Niger: july 2023
In July 2023, General Abdourahamane Tchiani overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, abruptly ending a rare period of democratic transition in Niger. This dramatic coup triggered a significant crisis within ECOWAS, which threatened military intervention if Bazoum was not reinstated and democratic rule restored.
The crisis further divided the region, leading Niger to align with Burkina Faso and Mali, forming the Alliance of Sahel States.
Gabon: august 2023
Shortly after President Ali Bongo, who had been in power for 14 years and was seeking a third term, was declared the winner of the 2023 election, a group of soldiers appeared on television to announce their seizure of power. They proceeded to annul the election results and dissolve all state institutions.
Brice Oligui Nguema, a cousin of Bongo, subsequently took control and has since led Gabon. He was declared the victor of the presidential election held in April.
Madagascar: october 2025
Expressing their profound frustration over chronic water shortages and persistent electricity outages, young people in Madagascar took to the streets in October 2025, demanding the resignation of former President Andry Rajoelina.
Instead of resigning, Rajoelina dissolved his government, a move that precipitated a military takeover in this Southern African nation.
Guinea-Bissau: november 2025
On November 26, 2025, soldiers in Guinea-Bissau seized power following a contentious presidential election three days earlier. Critics, including the opposition, characterized the coup as a staged takeover designed to prevent the incumbent president’s defeat.
Both the outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his primary opponent, Fernando Dias, had claimed victory in the November 23 election.
Embaló was subsequently released and permitted to flee to neighboring Senegal, from where he has since departed. The newly established military junta proceeded to make appointments, including several individuals allied with the deposed president.
Benin: december 2025
Less than two weeks after the coup in Guinea-Bissau, soldiers orchestrated a similar power grab in Benin in December 2025, following reports of gunfire near the presidential palace.
A group of soldiers, identifying themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, appeared on state television to declare that the country’s leader, Patrice Talon, had been overthrown and that all state institutions were dissolved.
The soldiers named Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri as the president of their military committee.
However, within hours, officials announced that the coup attempt had been foiled by the armed forces and reiterated that the military remained “committed to the Republic.”
